Standard Lithium Files Franklin Study With $5.9 Billion Net Present Value
Key Facts
Standard Lithium announced in a statement dated 20 October 2026 that it had filed the technical report for the preliminary economic assessment of its Franklin project in East Texas, which estimates a pre-tax net present value of about $5.9 billion. The company said the report was filed on the Canadian disclosure platform, documenting the economic assessment for developing the lithium carbonate project. The estimate is based on 100% ownership of the project and an unlevered valuation. Standard Lithium's economic interest in the project is 55%, according to the filing announcement. The study's key positive results were announced on 8 September 2026, before the technical report was filed. The filing thus forms part of the process of documenting the project study whose economic results had already been released.
According to assessment details published by the company, the project's pre-tax internal rate of return is 25.7% on an unlevered basis. After taxes, the study estimates a net present value of about $5.0 billion, compared with the pre-tax valuation. The after-tax internal rate of return is 24%, according to the results announced in September. The study uses a discount rate of 8% to calculate the present value of the project's estimated cash flows. The model also assumes a lithium carbonate selling price of $22,400 per tonne throughout the project's life, the price used in the economic assessment. These metrics form part of a preliminary study that includes inferred resources, and the company cautioned that there is no certainty its economic results will be realized.
On development requirements, Franklin's initial capital cost is estimated at about $3.5 billion, according to study details published on the company's website. This amount includes a 20% contingency within the estimated cost of building the project. During operations, the study estimates average cash operating costs for lithium carbonate production at about $4,226 per tonne over the project's life. Average all-in costs rise to $5,054 per tonne when other items included in the assessment are added to operating costs. These items include royalties, sustaining capital and closure costs, according to the company's definition of all-in costs in the study. The estimates thus incorporate both initial capital spending and future operating costs into the economic calculations for developing Franklin.
The project's planned maximum annual production capacity reaches 70,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate, according to the company's description of the development plan. The model, meanwhile, uses average annual production of 64,600 tonnes during the operating period covered by the study. Assumed average production over the plant's life is below its planned maximum annual capacity, according to figures published by the company. The assessment assumes a plant operating life of 20 years, the timeframe used to estimate average production. The selling price assumption covers the project's entire life, while cash and all-in cost figures represent averages over that period. The base economic case rests on lithium production, without including revenue from bromine or potash in its calculations.
According to the filed study, the project covers an expanded area of 44,541 hectares in East Texas. The company said this area is 37% larger than the area covered by the project's initial inferred resource report. Alongside the base lithium economic case, the study examined an additional case for building an adjacent bromine production facility. The capacity considered for the facility in this case is 50,000 tonnes annually, according to the technical report filing announcement. The company had stated in its September results announcement: "Bromine or potash is not considered in this economic case." The bromine facility is described in these terms as part of the additional scenario studied by the company, while base-case estimates remain limited to lithium economics.
For the next stage, the study recommends proceeding to a preliminary feasibility study for the project, according to the technical report filing announcement. The partnership will also continue direct lithium extraction testing on Franklin brines as part of upcoming development work. These steps follow the preliminary economic assessment, which includes inferred resources and whose economic results remain uncertain, according to the company's caution. The announced sequence of work places the preliminary feasibility study and continued direct extraction testing on the path following the report's filing. On operations, the company sees potential for production to begin in the early 2030s, according to the possible timing outlined in its announcement. This date remains a projection for developing the project, which is still at the preliminary economic assessment stage.