Smackover Lithium, the partnership between Standard Lithium Ltd. and Equinor, through subsidiaries of Equinor ASA, announced the positive results of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (the PEA) for the Franklin project (Franklin, the Project, or the Franklin Project) in the northeast region of Texas.
The PEA for the partnership’s first Project area in the East Texas region of the Smackover highlights the globally significant size and high quality of its brine position. It marks a key step towards the partnership’s goal of reaching well over 100,000 tonnes of lithium chemical production per year in Texas through multiple phases and projects.
PEA highlights:
- Robust lithium project economics. Unlevered after-tax net present value (NPV) of $5.0 billion, an internal rate of return (IRR) of 24.0%, and a 3.1-year payback period, assuming a discount rate of 8% and a lithium carbonate price of $22,400 per tonne.
- Globally significant production scale. The PEA contemplates annual production capacity of up to 70,000 tonnes of battery-quality lithium carbonate and roughly 65,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of average production over a 20-year modelled operating life, with an average lithium concentration of 515 mg/L. Initial production could begin in the early 2030’s with additional potential for a longer operating life and further expansion, though this is not modelled in the PEA.
- PEA leverages Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) for the South West Arkansas Project (SWA Project). The SWA Project DFS was informed by an 18-month detailed front-end engineering design process. Due to the similarity of the brines within Standard Lithium’s suite of projects, it is possible to apply key elements of the SWA Project process flowsheet and costing to improve understanding and accelerate the PEA process for the Franklin Project.
- Competitive operating cost estimate. Average annual lithium cash operating costs of $4,226/t projected over the operating life, and average annual all-in costs, inclusive of cash operating cost, royalties, sustaining capital and closure costs, of $5,054/t.
- Capital requirements. Lithium initial capital cost estimate (CAPEX) of $3.5 billion, including contingencies of 20%. This estimate takes into consideration SWA Project costs and uses established methodologies and scaling factors that result in a capital intensity of $49,945/t and incorporates Standard Lithium’s continual Demonstration Plant learnings.
- Increased exploration activities support larger and improved Mineral Resource definition. Increased Mineral Resource size and a portion of the Mineral Resource converted from Inferred to Indicated as compared to the Maiden Inferred Resource Report (MIRE). The new Indicated Resource is 1.77 million tonnes lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) at an average lithium concentration of 562 mg/L for 0.59 km3 of brine volume, while the upgraded Inferred Resource is 2.13 million tonnes LCE at an average lithium concentration of 572 mg/L for 0.70 km3 of brine volume. This represents a significant increase in total resource size. The PEA includes an Indicated and Inferred bromide Mineral Resource (ionized form of the commercial product bromine) of 2.66 and 3.15 million tonnes at an average bromide concentration of 4,483 and 4,501 mg/L, respectively, an increase and upgrade from the MIRE. There is also an Inferred potash (as potassium chloride) Mineral Resource of 15.06 million tonnes at an average potassium concentration of 11,291 mg/L.
- Extensive brine mineral leasing for the Franklin Project. Brine mineral leasing has been ongoing since 2022 in the Project area now encompassing 44,541 hectares (110,064 acres), an increase of 37% from the 32,455 hectares (80,199 acres) highlighted in the MIRE. A total 30,994 hectares (76,588 acres) gross mineral area has been leased to support the Mineral Resource.
- Additional value creation potential from bromine. The PEA also considers a scenario based on co-located bromine commercial opportunity of 50,000 tonnes per year.
- Possible future upside from potash. Potash was added to the U.S. Geological Survey Critical Mineral List in 2025. This PEA does not assume any potash recovery, production or economic contribution, but does highlight another possible source of future upside subject to technical, economic and market evaluation.
- All figures are in US dollars and all units are metric unless otherwise stated. All model outputs are expressed on a 100% ownership basis with no adjustments for financing assumptions. Standard Lithium's economic interest in the Project is 55%. Mineral Resources have been reported in accordance with the 2014 Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) Definition Standards for Mineral Resources & Mineral Reserves (CIM Definition Standard).
Dr. Andy Robinson, President and COO of Standard Lithium stated, “The Franklin PEA demonstrates the strength of arguably one of the largest and highest-quality lithium brine resources in North America, supporting an attractive standalone lithium operation with additional potential value from bromine and potash. Continued Project definition through our resource development, processing expertise and mineral leasing activities has resulted in a meaningful increase and upgrade to the Mineral Resource while highlighting very attractive and robust Project economics. These latest results establish a strong foundation to advance the Franklin Project as the first of our planned large-scale critical minerals projects in East Texas and underscore the scale and national importance of the partnership’s broader resource position being developed in the region.”
Allison Kennedy Thurmond, VP for US Lithium at Equinor added, “Advancing the PEA for the Franklin Project is an important step in unlocking the broader lithium potential for our partnership across the region. We are proud of the team’s disciplined execution and hard work to realize the Project area’s potential. These results strengthen our confidence in the opportunity and position us well to progress the next phase of technical work.”
Project overview
Smackover Lithium, a 55:45 owned partnership between Standard Lithium and Equinor, with Standard Lithium as the developer and operator, is seeking to develop a greenfield lithium extraction and chemicals production facility in the East Texas region of the Smackover Formation. The Franklin Project is its first defined project in East Texas.
The Project’s economics are derived from inputs based on the annual production schedule as set forth in the PEA and summarized above. Over the 20-year modelled operating life, economic results are most sensitive to changes in the assumed selling price of lithium carbonate, as well as changes in the production schedule.
The Project area is contained in east Hopkins, Franklin, and west Titus counties. The centre of the Franklin Project is located approximately 4.5 km south of the city of Mount Vernon. The main access to the Project site is via east-west Interstate Highway 30, which connects Texas to Arkansas. The Project area is also accessible by the state highways and the nationwide rail network that passes through surrounding towns.
Brine mineral leasing has been ongoing since 2022 and the Mineral Resource underlies a total of 1,196 separate brine and brine-sourced mineral leases as of July 20, 2026. The 44,541-hectare (110,064-acre) Project area consists of 30,994 gross brine mineral hectares (76,588 gross brine mineral acres) leased by Smackover Lithium.
