The Lithium Australia NL (ASX: LIT) share price has been a strong performer on Wednesday morning.
At the time of writing, the lithium company's shares are zooming 30% higher to 17.5 cents.
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Why is the Lithium Australia share price zooming higher?
Investors have been buying Lithium Australia shares this morning after it provided an update on its SiLeach process.
According to the release, the company's SiLeach patent application has been granted by United States Patent and Trademark Office. This provides the company with 17 years legal protection in the country.
Management feels the granting of this application is vindication of the value of its intellectual property in a jurisdiction known for its tardiness in approving patent applications.
In addition to this, the company notes that it has been accepted by IP Australia and patent application claims are considered allowable by European Patent Office.
What is SiLeach?
Lithium Australia's Managing Director, Adrian Griffin, explained what the SiLeach process is.
He said: "Lithium Australia's revolutionary SiLeach process unlocks the value in lithium-bearing clays and micas. The Sileach process can produce a range of lithium chemicals, including lithium hydroxide, lithium carbonate and lithium phosphate. Significantly, the use of lithium phosphate is the shortest route to the production of lithium ferrophosphate (LFP) batteries, which is also advantageous from an environmental, social and governance perspective."
Mr Griffin believes the granting of the patent is timely.
He commented: "Granting of the US SiLeach patent is timely, given increased interest in the extraction of lithium from clays in north America … and even more so now that LFP is the most rapidly expanding sector of the lithium-ion battery industry."
"The lithium and phosphorus required to manufacture LFP are both produced by SiLeach as a single lithium chemical. We invite anyone with a lithium mica or clay deposit to reach out and see what we can offer; also, cathode producers interested in discussing a more direct route to LFP synthesis using our proprietary VSPC cathode powder production technology," he concluded.
