EMP Metals Corp. [EMPS-CSE, EMPPF-OTCQB] has released an update on construction of its lithium demonstration plant, known as Project Aurora, at the company’s Viewfeld Project in Saskatchewan.
Construction of the 8,400 square foot production facility building commenced in mid-September. EMP is currently under way with the balance of the on-site work, focused now on finalizing the building and the interior finishing, and fully on track for completion in November. 2025. The next phase installation of electrical work is set to begin in the New Year, the company said in a press release. “Currently production equipment skids are being built at Saltworks Technologies Inc.’s production facility in Richmond, B.C. and are expected to begin shipping to site in the first quarter of 2026,’’ the company said.
EMP shares were unchanged at 37 cents and trade in a 52-week range of 53 cents and 21.5 cents.
EMP is a lithium exploration and development company with a focus on large-scale resources using direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology. EMP owns 100% of Hub City Lithium, a private entity which controls the leased land covering the Mansur and Viewfield projects targeting the Duperow formation. It holds that interest following a share exchanged deal with ROK Resources Inc. [ROK-TSXV, ROKRF-OTCQB], which exchanged its 25% stake in Hub City for 17 million shares of EMP.
The Project Aurora demo plant will establish, test, and optimize a wellhead connected, continuous flow, modular Hub and Spoke lithium extraction and refining model. The on-site program aims to unlock performance improvements and cost savings while de-risking future investments.
Project Aurora, a joint initiative between EMP Metals and Saltworks, is aimed at driving down costs, simplification, and leveraging the best available and most economic technology while optimizing a complete lithium system from well to battery chemical. As part of the collaborative’s launch, Saltworks will advance full-scale plant design and cost estimates for a 3,000 tonne per year modular, repeatable commercial refinery for EMP utilizing data and insights from the demo plant project.
“We are pleased with the progress of the building and site development for our demonstration plant at our core Viewfield site,’’ said EMP Metals COO Paul Schubach. “Focus remains on delivering a high quality, cost-effective build with integrated environmental controls to ensure Project Aurora operation is set for success. We are on schedule to hit our construction milestones in preparation to receive processing equipment in early 2026.’’
EMP recently reported a substantial increase in high-grade resources across all categories for its Viewfield and Masur lithium brine projects in Saskatchewan.
The results of the latest mineral resource estimate (MRE) include 931,038 tonnes of indicated lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) with a weighted average of 141 mg/L of lithium, and 1.12 million tonnes of inferred LCE with a weighted average of 112 mg/L lithium. The company said the total resource has increased by over 78.5% from earlier estimates.
