POSCO will build, operate, and fund the non-commercial DLE plant at Green River, with a definitive agreement expected by mid-2025 and operations in 2027. The deal validates DLE technology for US brine lithium.
Anson Resources (ASX: ASN) and South Korean industrial group POSCO Holdings have approved a binding agreement that will see POSCO fund, build, and operate a direct lithium extraction (DLE) demonstration plant at the Green River lithium project in Utah. The deal transfers the capital and operational risk of proving DLE technology to the Korean partner. Anson receives a $7.2 million facilitation fee, retains full project upside, and supplies the brine, land, and infrastructure. A definitive agreement is expected by mid-2025, with the demo plant scheduled to start operations in 2027.
This is not a funding arrangement where the junior miner carries the cost. POSCO will engineer, construct, operate, and maintain its own non-commercial DLE facility. Anson provides continuous access to the Bosydaba #1 well brine stream and site infrastructure. The structure keeps Anson’s balance sheet light while a global battery materials group commits industrial capital to test brine lithium at scale. For traders, the $7.2m cash inflow is a confirmation payment. The larger signal is that POSCO is prepared to invest its own engineering resources to validate the extraction technology on US soil.
The binding agreement establishes a clear division of labour that shifts execution risk away from Anson.
The facilitation fee is modest relative to the capital cost of a DLE plant, yet its function is to compensate Anson for providing the resource and site. The real value lies in the industrial validation. POSCO’s decision to self-fund a non-commercial demonstration plant tells the market that the Korean group is treating Green River brine as a critical test of its own DLE technology. Validation at continuous industrial throughput is the necessary step before any commercial lithium production, and POSCO is paying for the privilege.
Anson’s asset contribution is de-risked. The company does not carry the capital expenditure of the demo plant. It provides the brine resource it discovered in 2023 and the borehole infrastructure it has already drilled. By separating the technology validation from its own cash burn, Anson retains full upside on the project while POSCO proves out the extraction method on its own dime.
The quote underscores a dual thesis: technical confidence in the resource and strategic importance of US-produced lithium. POSCO, a key battery cathode supplier to global automakers, is moving its lithium sourcing closer to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) incentive zone.
The DLE demonstration plant represents an underappreciated step-change for the broader lithium extraction sector. DLE promises to extract lithium from brines faster and with a smaller environmental footprint than evaporation ponds or hard-rock mining. Scaling from benchtop experiments to continuous, economic production has remained a barrier. POSCO’s willingness to fund a full demonstration plant demonstrates that, for one major industrial player, the technology is ready to move beyond the lab.
Before the POSCO deal, Anson had already been sharpening its brine quality. A “polishing” program using a Koch Technology Services DLE pilot plant removed minor contaminants from the lithium chloride eluate, aiming for a higher-grade final lithium carbonate product. That pre-processing step reduces impurities that could foul a larger DLE system. The POSCO demo plant will now test whether the same brine can be processed at a sustained commercial rate.
Key insight: POSCO’s commitment does not just validate Green River; it validates the whole DLE route for brine lithium in the USA. Other projects that have been stuck at the pilot stage now have a real industrial reference point.
Before the board approvals, Anson subsidiary Blackstone Minerals shipped a two-tonne bulk sample of Green River brine to POSCO. That sample formed part of POSCO’s due diligence for the demo plant. The fact that POSCO proceeded to a binding agreement after testing the actual brine suggests the chemistry passed initial scrutiny. For traders, the bulk sample is concrete evidence that POSCO’s engineering team has already touched and tested the raw material.
POSCO is not a financial investor. The group runs one of the world’s largest steel businesses and a rapidly expanding battery materials division that supplies cathode materials to electric vehicle manufacturers. Securing a North American lithium feedstock fits a clear industrial strategy. By operating its own DLE plant in Utah, POSCO can de-risk the brine resource before committing to a full commercial extraction and refining operation.
POSCO has previously invested in lithium brine projects in Argentina and hard-rock assets in Australia. The move into Utah adds a North American supply point just as the IRA tying EV tax credits to domestic or free-trade-agreement sourcing is tightening the economics for automakers. Brine from Green River, once proven at scale, could feed battery-grade lithium carbonate into the US supply chain without the lengthy shipping and tariff risk of South American or Chinese material.
The IRA has created a bifurcated lithium market: material meeting domestic content requirements can command a premium. Anson’s Utah brine, if proven and scaled, sits squarely within that premium bracket. The POSCO deal signals that a Korean industrial group is willing to invest ahead of the commercial line. For traders, this is the type of catalyst that can move ASX-listed lithium juniors from exploration stories to offtake candidates. For more on how commodity structure interacts with geopolitical and policy shifts, see our commodities analysis.
The read-through from this agreement extends beyond Anson. Several small-cap lithium developers have been touting DLE as the technology that will unlock otherwise stranded brine resources. POSCO’s decision to put capital into a non-commercial demo plant gives those narratives a concrete industrial benchmark. The market now knows that at least one major battery materials group believes the technology can work at scale and is willing to fund it.
Companies offering DLE technology and lithium juniors with brine assets in the Paradox Basin or elsewhere may see increased investor attention. The deal also highlights the role of Koch Technology Services as a DLE equipment provider, having already worked with Anson on the polishing program. The sector readthrough is that the DLE value chain – brine asset owners, technology licensors, and engineering firms – collectively gains credibility each time a major industrial partner commits to a demonstration plant.
Traders looking to position across the lithium supply chain may also consider the practicalities of executing commodity trades. Our guide to the best commodities brokers offers a starting point for evaluating platforms that cover lithium equities and exchange-traded products.
The immediate catalyst is the definitive agreement, expected by mid-2025. That document will provide detail on cost allocation, technology performance benchmarks, and any pathways toward full commercial investment. Until then, the binding framework gives the market enough to re-price Anson based on the $7.2 million cash inflow and the industrial validation that came with it.
Anson now carries a fully funded DLE demonstration pathway without putting its own treasury at risk. The 2027 plant startup remains the operational pivot. The real inflection may come sooner if the definitive agreement includes joint investment terms that convert POSCO from technology validator to project co-owner.
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