EnergyX–Eni $225M deal at Black Giant: capex, offtake and DLE lens for mine planners
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on MINING.com
30 Second Briefing
EnergyX has secured a $225 million investment from Eni SpA for a minority stake in the Black Giant lithium project in Chile’s Antofagasta Region, giving Eni rights to about 25% of future output. Black Giant is designed to produce up to 52,500 tpa of lithium carbonate in its first two phases, with total capex just under $1 billion and projected annual gross revenue of $1.3 billion at May 2026 prices of $25,000/t. The 100,000+ acre project near Salar de Punta Negra is underpinned by a 9.8 Mt in-situ lithium resource from 22 wells and nearly 10,000 hours of pilot work using EnergyX’s GET Lit DLE platform, plus a 170 tpa demonstration plant nearing operation.
Technical Brief
- Eni’s $225 million equity injection secures a minority stake plus up to 25% of future offtake.
- Funding is intended to carry Black Giant from current pre‑feasibility through full commercial development.
- Eni contributes subsurface engineering, upstream development and global energy infrastructure expertise to accelerate project delivery.
- Resource delineation is based on 22 exploration wells across more than 100,000 acres near Salar de Punta Negra.
- Upstream resource report estimates 9.8 million tonnes in‑situ lithium from brine concentrations tested on site.
- Nearly 10,000 hours of pilot plant operation have been completed on real brines to de‑risk DLE performance.
- A 170 tpa demonstration plant using the proprietary GET Lit DLE and refining platform is nearing commissioning.
Our Take
With Project Lonestar in Texas already operating as the first US DLE plant and a 30,000 tpa DLE/refining MoU in Utah, EnergyX is effectively using Black Giant in Chile to anchor a three-node brine-to-chemicals platform across Antofagasta, Texas and the Great Salt Lake, which could give it unusual flexibility in allocating lithium carbonate and hydroxide output to different markets.
The commissioning of a large roll-to-roll membrane line in Austin and the planned LFP cathode plant in Hooks, Texas suggest that lithium from Black Giant could ultimately be channelled into an integrated value chain from DLE membranes through to cathode active material, rather than sold purely as a bulk commodity.
Within our 125 lithium- and lithium carbonate-tagged pieces, relatively few combine upstream brine resources of Black Giant’s in-situ scale with downstream speciality plays like EnergyX’s NUKE-it lithium isotope platform, signalling that Eni’s offtake position is tied not just to volume but to a diversified suite of lithium derivatives spanning batteries, nuclear and potentially fusion applications.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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