Update lifts Century Lithium’s Angel Island to standout US project

[Ben Graham]

An updated feasibility study for Century Lithium’s (TSXV: LCE) Angel Island claystone project in Nevada significantly improves its economics over a previous study and positions it near the top tier of lithium development projects in the United States.

The study, released Monday, raises Angel Island’s post-tax net present value (at an 8% discount rate) by one-third to $4.01 billion, based on a lithium carbonate price assumption of $24,000 per tonne. The update cut initial capital costs by about 35% to $997 million, compared to the feasibility released in 2024. The internal rate of return (IRR) rose to 27%, a 10% increase. Angel Island is about 350 km northwest of Las Vegas.

“These results were made possible by Century Lithium’s team who, through many steps of optimization including those at the company’s pilot plant, have delivered a more efficient development plan for the project,” Century Lithium CEO Bill Willoughby said in a release.

Leading project

The study puts Angel Island, formerly known as Clayton Valley, among just four projects in the US to have reached the feasibility stage, while its $4 billion NPV ranks it near the top for value. Located in Clayton Valley, Angel Island is also near Albemarle’s (NYSE: ALB) Silver Peak brine project, the country’s only producing lithium mine.

Angel Island was given transparency status last August by the US Federal Permitting Council on its fast-track approval list, or FAST-41, one of just three lithium projects to gain that recognition.

Century Lithium shares gained 11% to C$0.57 apiece on Monday morning in Toronto, for a market capitalization of C$94.4 million ($69 million).

Angel Island ranks second behind Lithium Americas (TSX, NYSE: LAC) Thacker Pass project in the same state, which has an NPV of $5.9 billion. Piedmont Lithium’s (Nasdaq, ASX: PLL) Carolina project in North Carolina is third with its NPV of $2 billion, followed by Ioneer’s (Nasdaq: IONR; ASX: INR) Rhyolite Ridge project in Nevada, with an NPV of $1.37 billion.

40-year life

The update envisions a staged, 40-year mine life based on a direct lithium extraction operation using hydrochloric acid leaching and chlor-alkali processing that enables on-site production of battery-grade lithium carbonate. Annual output is pegged at about 26,500 tonnes, with stage one throughput of about 7,500 tonnes per day, doubling to 15,000 tonnes in the second stage starting in year five.

The project is set to gain additional revenues of $5,393 per tonne from sodium hydroxide (NaOH), produced as a byproduct of lithium carbonate. NaOH, also known as caustic soda, is an industrial chemical that aids in the production of lithium hydroxide for high-nickel EV batteries. Regarded as a co-product credit, it would result in net operating costs below zero, Century said.

The stage two expansion is estimated to cost $660 million, up from the $651 million outlined in the previous study. The update removes a third stage that was included in the initial feasibility.

Angel Island hosts proven and probable reserves of 287.65 million tonnes grading 1,149 parts per million lithium, containing 1.759 million tonnes lithium carbonate equivalent.