A Modern-Day Gold Rush: Lithium in Brines
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Lithium in brines in southeast Saskatchewan: a modern-day gold rush
The Speaker
Dr. Ben Rostron, is the 2024 Birdsall-Dreiss Distinguished Lecturer. He is a Professor Emeritus of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Alberta and President of Isobrine Solutions Inc. He holds a BASc in Geological Engineering (1986) from the University of Waterloo, and earned his MSc (1990) and PhD (1995) in Geology from the University of Alberta.
He started his academic career at the University of Saskatchewan in 1994, Ben conducted pioneering hydrogeological mapping of the Williston Basin, continuing extensive fieldwork since his first wellhead formation-water sample in 1996. Returning to the University of Alberta in 1997, he taught Regional and Petroleum Hydrogeology until his retirement in 2021, emphasizing applied research addressing real-world challenges.
Ben’s initiatives extended to practical applications, notably founding Isobrine Solutions Inc. in 2004. His research led to an understanding of the unique distribution of lithium in the subsurface, a rush for mineral brine permits in Saskatchewan, and ultimately, in part to the creation of several new lithium exploration/production companies attempting to exploit a new type of lithium-brine resource in the province and beyond.
The Talk
There is currently an enormous exploration interest in brine-hosted lithium from the Duperow/Leduc aquifer in Western Canada. Published concentrations of lithium up to 259 mg/L are found in southeast Saskatchewan, significantly higher than those currently being exploited further west in west central Saskatchewan and Alberta. Yet, the origin of this difference within a single formation has received little attention in the open literature. The question remains: what controls the distribution of lithium in subsurface brines? A second question is: why are there extreme variations in lithium concentrations mapped very close together?
Ben will address these questions and he will review this new type of brine-hosted lithium resource from southeast Saskatchewan and provide the latest public results from this active exploration play.
About the Event
Price: SPE/AusIMM Member $45
Non-Member $65
Date: Tuesday, 20 August 2024
Location: Parmelia Hilton Hotel , 14 Mill Street, Perth WA 6000
Time: 4:45 pm – 5:00 pm Registration & Networking.
Time: 5:00 pm – 5:50 pm Opening remarks and presentation.
Time: 5:50 pm – 6:00 pm Q&A Session.
Time: 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm Closing with networking drinks & nibbles.
Free tickets are available for Students. SPE WA in conjunction with our sponsors is kindly sponsoring students to attend the monthly technical events. Please apply through your SPE Student Chapter.