The Albany Gazette - 5E Advanced Materials Completes Lithium Carbonate Preliminary Economic Assessment

HESPERIA, CA / ACCESS Newswire / May 20, 2026 / 5E Advanced Materials, Inc., ("5E" or the "Company") a company focused on becoming a vertically integrated global leader and supplier of refined borates and advanced boron derivative materials, today announced the successful completion of a preliminary economic assessment (the "PEA") of lithium carbonate recovery opportunities associated with the lithium-rich brine stream generated from its planned large-scale Fort Cady critical mineral facility located in Southern California. The PEA, completed by Fluor Corporation, a leading global engineering, procurement and construction firm, evaluated multiple lithium extraction and processing pathways and identified direct concentration as the optimal recovery process based on economics, operational fit, and execution risk.

Key Highlights of the Study

• Production of approximately 523 short tons per annum of lithium carbonate via direct concentration method

• Pre-tax NPV₇ of $56.7 million and Pre-tax IRR of 51.6%, with indicated capital payback in approximately two to three years from first production

• Approximately $9.8 million indicated total installed cost for direct concentration, compared to approximately $25.3 million for a direct lithium extraction ("DLE") alternative

• A simplified process flowsheet with fewer unit operations and reduced operational complexity

• Lower maintenance and staffing requirements relative to DLE technology

• Utilization of commercially mature evaporation and lithium carbonate processing technologies, reducing technology risk

"Completion of this assessment is an important technical and commercial milestone in advancing Fort Cady as a domestic source of boron and lithium, two critical minerals," said Paul Weibel, CEO of 5E Advanced Materials, Inc. "The direct concentration process offers a commercially proven, capital-efficient and economically attractive pathway to recover additional value from our existing brine streams while maintaining operational simplicity and minimizing development risk. We believe the selected process can leverage existing equipment from our small-scale facility, potentially reducing further incremental capital requirements, while the production of a lithium carbonate is expected to provide a meaningful byproduct credit that enhances projected project NPV and overall returns."

The direct concentration flowsheet is designed to integrate efficiently with 5E's planned Fort Cady boron operations, utilizing solar evaporation to concentrate lithium from the calcium chloride-rich effluent stream generated during boron production. Downstream processing includes magnesium and calcium removal followed by lithium carbonate precipitation to produce a marketable lithium carbonate product.

The PEA identified important technical and commercialization risks associated with DLE technologies in this application, including higher capital requirements, increased process complexity, additional reagent consumption, scale-up considerations, and unresolved impacts of boron in the feed brine on ion exchange media performance. The selection of direct concentration is intended to materially reduce those technology and execution risks while preserving comparable post-tax NPV. The PEA was developed using thermodynamic simulation modeling and AACE Class 5 capital cost estimates, with an accuracy range typical of preliminary-stage studies. 5E intends to continue advancing engineering studies and optimization work as part of the next phase of development planning for the Fort Cady large-scale facility.

₁ Capital cost of direct concentration can be potentially offset with existing equipment

₂ Assumes annual price of $18,000 per ton of Li₂CO₃

₃ OPEX is net of calcium carbonate credit ($175 per ton)

₄ NPV and IRR were assessed on a 30-year discounted cash flow model

About 5E Advanced Materials, Inc.

5E Advanced Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq:FEAM) (ASX:5EA) is focused on becoming a vertically integrated global leader and supplier of refined borates and advanced boron materials, complemented by calcium-based co-products, and potentially other by-products such as lithium carbonate. The Company's mission is to become a supplier of these critical materials to industries addressing global decarbonization, energy independence, food, national security, and the defense sector. The Company believes factors such as government regulation and incentives focused on domestic manufacturing and supply chains and capital investments across industries will drive demand for end-use applications like solar and wind energy infrastructure, neodymium-iron-boron magnets, defense applications, lithium-ion batteries, and other critical material applications. The business is based on the Company's large domestic boron resource, which is located in Southern California and designated as Critical Infrastructure by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and boron has been included on the U.S. Government's 2025 List of Critical Minerals.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this press release may contain "forward-looking statements" that are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release may be identified by the use of words such as "may," "will," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "could," "intend," "target," "project," "contemplate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions, and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the results, assumptions and conclusions of the preliminary economic assessment of the lithium carbonate byproduct circuit (the "Lithium PEA"), including estimated capital costs, operating costs, production rates, project life, pre-tax and post-tax NPV and IRR, payback period, byproduct credits, revenue and other economic metrics; the selection of direct concentration as the preferred recovery pathway and the anticipated technical, operational and commercial benefits relative to direct lithium extraction or other alternatives; assumed lithium carbonate and reagent pricing and demand; the expected integration of the lithium circuit with the planned Fort Cady boron facility; the potential to leverage existing small-scale facility equipment to reduce incremental capital requirements; the expected production of marketable lithium carbonate and calcium carbonate co-products; the Company's ability to advance engineering, optimization, permitting and development works for the Fort Cady project; and the Company's ability to advance the Fort Cady Project toward future financing and construction readiness. The Lithium PEA is preliminary in nature, is based on AACE Class 5 capital cost estimates with associated accuracy ranges typical of preliminary-stage studies, includes assumptions that may not prove to be accurate, and is not a feasibility study; there is no certainty that the results of the Lithium PEA will be realized and actual results may differ materially. The project economic measures included in this press release, including, without limitation, net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), payback period, life-of-project revenue, capital cost, operating cost per ton and byproduct credits, are forward-looking estimates derived from the Lithium PEA and from engineering and financial modeling assumptions, are not financial measures presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), are not intended to be substitutes for, or superior to, financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, and are not reconcilable to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures without unreasonable effort because the necessary inputs are dependent on future events and conditions, many of which are outside the Company's control. These project economic measures should not be relied upon as projections of the Company's consolidated revenue, earnings, cash flow or other GAAP financial results, and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. Any forward-looking statements are based on 5E's current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. For a discussion of other risks and uncertainties, and other important factors, any of which could cause our actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see the section entitled "Risk Factors" in 5E's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and its other reports filed with the SEC. Forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are based on information available to 5E as of the date hereof and are made only as of the date of this release. 5E undertakes no obligation to update such information except as required under applicable law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing 5E's views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. In light of the foregoing, investors are urged not to rely on any forward-looking statement in reaching any conclusion or making any investment decision about any securities of 5E.

For further information contact:

Investor Relations

Brett Maas
Hayden IR, LLC
[email protected]
Ph: +1 (480) 861-2425

Media Relations

Paola Ashton
PRA Communications
[email protected]
Ph: +1 (604) 681-1407

SOURCE: 5E Advanced Materials, Inc.

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

(M.Scott--TAG)