Vancouver-based Foremost Lithium Resource & Technology has contracted Glencore Canada's Expert Process Solution to pilot spodumene concentrate production from its Zoro lithium project in Manitoba.

The new project will design a method to develop and refine spodumene concentrate, Foremost said.

"This strategic project will demonstrate to the market that Foremost can produce high-quality SC6 and battery-grade lithium hydroxide and help establish Manitoba as a significant Canadian contributor to the North American strategic battery manufacturing supply chain," Foremost chief executive Scott Taylor said.

Initial testwork undertaken in 2020 with SGS Canada found that heavy liquids separation, combined with magnetite separation, can produce high-grade lithium spodumene concentrate.

Iron silicate minerals must first be rejected, which means the spodumene may be recoverable using HLS or flotation.

The project, which will be worked on by XPS and SGS, will use a 500-kilogramme sample size to determine the feasibility of converting the 6% lithium oxide to lithium hydroxide, which is needed by electric vehicle manufacturers.

Research will be undertaken at XPS' Falconbridge facility and SGS Canada's Lakefield facility. It will involve single-stage Dense Media Separation, flotation, pyrometallurgy, and hydrometallurgy.

Phase 1 will focus on evaluating the purity and recovery of lithium from concentrates to provide data for the pilot process, Foremost said. Results are expected in three months.

Phase 2 will determine how to process spodumene into a saleable battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate. This phase will be completed in the March quarter of 2023.