Together with its direct lithium extraction technology partner, Lilac Solutions, Lake announced the production of 2500kg of lithium carbonate equivalents at the Kachi lithium pilot plant.

It's the first successful implementation of ion exchange for lithium production in South America, home to most of the world's lithium brine resources, the two companies said.

"Today, we've proven that it is possible to produce high-purity lithium faster and without evaporation ponds - all while protecting surrounding communities and ecosystems," Lake's and Lilac's CEOs David Dickson and David Syndacker said in a joint statement.

"Today's announcement marks a new era in scalable lithium production. Lithium is a cornerstone of the energy transition - but limitations in production technology have led to increased costs, scarcity, and extreme price volatility."

Based on the result, Lilac has increased its ownership of the Kachi Project from 10% to 20%.

Lilac can earn up to 25% in Kachi by spending US$50 million.

The LCEs was extracted with 80% lithium recovery, 90% plant uptime, 1000x less land compared with evaporation ponds, and 10x less water compared with conventional aluminium-based absorbents, the companies said.

The plant was commissioned on-site in under a month, which is 10x faster than conventional processes, and immediately began continuous production of lithium chloride, they said.

"The lithium chloride being produced is low in impurities, enabling efficient production of high-purity carbonate for battery manufacturers. Rejection of boron, a troublesome impurity for brine projects, is greater than 99.9%," they said.

The ongoing feasibility study is examining the production of some 50,000tpa of LCE over 25 years from 2024-25.

Production is targeted at 100,000tpa from 2030.

The DFS is scheduled to be completed by mid this year.

Lake shares were up 18% to 54.5c, about a five-week high.