Smackover Lithium Announces Positive Definitive Feasibility Study Results for its South West Arkansas Project

Smackover Lithium, a Joint Venture (“JV”) between Standard Lithium Ltd. (“Standard Lithium” or the “Company”) (TSXV: SLI) (NYSE.A: SLI) and Equinor (“Equinor”), announced the positive results of a Definitive Feasibility Study (“DFS”) for its South West Arkansas (“SWA”) project (the “Project” or “SWA Project”).

All figures are in US dollars unless otherwise stated. All terms not otherwise defined have the meaning given to them under the CIM Definition Standards for mineral resources and mineral reserves.

DFS Highlights:

• First production targeted in 2028. Projected initial production capacity of 22,500 tonnes per annum (“tpa”) of battery-quality lithium carbonate (“Li2CO3”) for the Project, marking the first commercial lithium production in the Smackover Formation.
• 20-year plus operating life. Detailed Resource and Reserve modelling supports a production plan with average lithium concentration of 481 mg/L, underpinning a minimum 20-year operating life with ample opportunity for significant further expansion.
• Robust project economics. Unlevered pre-tax NPV of $1.7 billion and IRR of 20.2%, assuming a discount rate of 8% and a lithium carbonate price of $22,400/t (average of Fastmarket’s 20-year forward pricing curve for battery-quality lithium carbonate).
• Competitive OPEX. Average cash operating costs of $4,516/t over the operating life and average all-in costs of $5,924/t.
• Total CAPEX of $1.45 billion. All-in Class III capex estimate of $1.45 billion includes a 12.3% Monte Carlo risked contingency. This is informed by an 18-month detailed front-end engineering design (“FEED”) process which has yielded capital definition well beyond typical DFS studies. Conservative adoption of pilot and demonstration plant learnings used in FEED results in improved capital intensity expected on future expansion phases.
• Increased exploration activities support better Resource definition. Since completion of the Prefeasibility Study (“PFS”), the JV has re-entered wells and drilled a new in-fill well to support upgrading the Resource and modeling Proven and Probable Reserves. The Total Measured and Indicated Resource is 1,177,000 tonnes lithium carbonate equivalent (“LCE”) at an average concentration of 442 mg/L for 0.50km3 of brine volume, and Proven Reserves are 447,000 tonnes LCE at an average concentration of 481 mg/L for 0.20km3of brine volume.
• First commercial Direct Lithium Extraction (“DLE”) in United States. Smackover Lithium is licensing Koch Technology Solutions’ (“KTS”) Lithium Selective Sorption (“LSS”) process for the initial phase of the Project, which includes performance guarantees. Opportunity exists for further operational and cost improvement on future expansion phases with regional exclusivity for the technology in the Smackover under a joint development agreement (the “Joint Development Agreement”).

Dr. Andy Robinson, President and COO of Standard Lithium stated, “The robust economics from our SWA Project DFS confirm what we’ve known for a long time – that this is a world class asset and opportunity. Through years of extensive testing and development we have substantially de-risked the process technology and increased our confidence in Project execution. We are well-positioned to move the Project towards a Final Investment Decision (“FID”) and are excited by the prospect of being a domestic champion for securing critical minerals production in the United States.”

Allison Kennedy Thurmond, VP for US Lithium at Equinor added, “The completion of the DFS is an important and exciting milestone for our SWA Project. This third-party economic and technical assessment further validates the potential of our Project and allows us to continue progressing towards a future FID.”

Project Overview 

Smackover Lithium, a 55:45 owned JV between Standard Lithium and Equinor is developing a greenfield lithium extraction and chemicals production facility in the southwestern region of Arkansas. The Project is located approximately 15 miles (24 kilometers) west of Magnolia in Columbia County and 7 miles (11 kilometers) south of Lewisville in Lafayette County. The SWA Project encompasses approximately 30,000 acres of brine leases in the region, and the upgraded Resource in the DFS considers this total area. The first commercial phase of the Project is focused on the approved Reynolds Brine Unit (see news release dated 24th April 2025) in the southern portion of the total Project area (see Figure 1). The DFS Project economics are focused on this initial phase of development, but the JV is planning to develop additional phases of the Project throughout the total Project area.

The SWA Project is intended as the first of several projects to be developed by the JV throughout the Smackover Region, and it is envisaged that the major design decisions and learnings from this first greenfield facility will form the basis for future expansion phases or projects. The Project team consciously used conservative adoption of pilot and demonstration plant learnings during the FEED design phase for this Project. As such, certain process redundancies, resource producibility and operating practice assumptions have been utilized throughout in order to ensure robustness. It is expected that learnings from this first commercial phase will result in reduced capital intensity and operating costs for future projects developed by the JV in the Smackover Formation. The initial phase of the SWA Project as illustrated is projected to produce battery-quality lithium carbonate with 22,500 tpa of total production capacity over a 20-year operating life. 

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