Galan Lithium completed wet plant commissioning at Hombre Muerto West, moving first processed brine into evaporation ponds. First LiCl sales targeted for H2 2026 under Authium offtake.
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Galan Lithium (ASX: GLN) has completed wet commissioning of its nanofiltration plant at the Hombre Muerto West (HMW) brine project in Argentina, moving the first processed lithium chloride concentrate into final evaporation ponds. The company is targeting first product sales in the second half of 2026.
Independent lab tests confirmed the plant's impurity separation performance matches design specs, Galan said in a statement. The processed brine will spend roughly three months in evaporation ponds to reach a target 6% LiCl product, which will be sold under an existing Phase 1 offtake agreement with Authium Limited.
Galan has roughly 10,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in brine inventory at the ponds, giving the plant feedstock for the ramp-up. The company is taking a staged approach to production – starting with lithium chloride concentrate rather than jumping straight to a capital-intensive battery-grade carbonate facility. That path lets the project generate early cash flow before the next phase.
HMW sits in Argentina's "lithium triangle," a basin known for low-impurity brine relative to other Argentine deposits. The project also falls under Argentina's RIGI (Large Scale Investment Framework), which provides 30 years of fiscal stability and income tax benefits. That framework covers the current phase and planned expansions.
The wet plant milestone follows completion of Phase 1 construction in March 2026, after which Galan moved the plant through electrical and mechanical testing into wet commissioning. The company is one of a handful of greenfield lithium projects globally expected to enter production next year.
Galan's focus on project execution comes as the broader lithium sector deals with price volatility and development delays. The staged production model and existing offtake agreement reduce some of the execution risk, though the timeline to first sales still depends on evaporation rates and final product quality.
The next concrete marker is the evaporation cycle – roughly three months – after which the first LiCl product should be ready for shipment under the Authium agreement.
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