EMP Metals completes Project Aurora demonstration plant, targets Q3 startup
Canada NewsWire
VANCOUVER, BC , Aug. 5, 2026 /CNW/ -- EMP Metals Corp. (CSE: EMPS) (OTCQB: EMPPF) (FSE: 9ST) ("EMP Metals" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that construction of its Project Aurora Demonstration Plant located within the Company's Viewfield Project Area in Saskatchewan has been successfully completed.
The fully integrated demonstration facility is now directly connected to both the production well and waste brine disposal well, allowing continuous wellhead brine delivery to the facility process while returning spent brine to the targeted disposal interval (see Figure 1). This integrated configuration enables full commissioning of the demonstration plant under real operating conditions and is among the first Lithium Brine facilities in Canada to achieve this level of integration.
Commissioning activities continue to progress according to plan and are now approximately 50% complete. Live production brine is currently being processed through multiple operating systems as commissioning advances toward full plant start-up. The Company remains on schedule to commence demonstration operations during the third quarter of 2026.
The demonstration plant has now achieved several key milestones, including:
Construction and field infrastructure 100% complete.
Direct wellhead connection established to both production and disposal wells.
Raw brine delivery from the production well into the process facility and advancing towards continuous flow, steady state operations.
Waste brine disposal system fully operational with injection into the targeted disposal formation.
Approximately 50% of the overall commissioning schedule completed.
Commissioning advancing across all major processing systems.
Start-up in Q3 2026 remains on schedule.
"Completing construction of Project Aurora marks a major milestone for EMP as we transition from building the facility to operating it," said Karl Kottmeier, CEO of EMP Metals. "Having the demonstration plant fully connected directly to both the production well and disposal well allows us to commission the facility under true field operating conditions. Fresh production brine is now flowing through the process as we continue integrating each system, and with commissioning approximately halfway complete, we remain on schedule for Q3 start-up."
Project Aurora is EMP's integrated, continuous-flow lithium refining demonstration system designed to process ten (10) m³/day of raw brine from wellhead to lithium chemicals. The facility is intended to validate process performance, optimize operating parameters, and generate engineering and economic data to support future commercial-scale development.
The demonstration program represents a key step toward commercializing EMP's lithium brine resource in Saskatchewan. Operational data generated throughout the demonstration campaign will support engineering design, process optimization, and economic evaluation for a future modular commercial facility capable of producing more than 3,000 tonnes per year of lithium products.
EMP's Saskatchewan lithium resource continues to benefit from favourable brine chemistry free of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) and oil-derived organics, shallow low-cost drilling, established infrastructure, and a supportive critical minerals regulatory environment, positioning the Company to pursue initial commercial modules targeting 1,500 to 3,000 annually, expandable thereafter.
About EMP Metals
EMP is a Canadian-based lithium exploration and development company focused on large-scale resources using direct lithium extraction (DLE). EMP currently holds over 205,000 net acres (83,000 hectares) of Subsurface Dispositions and strategic wellbores in Southern Saskatchewan.
For more information, please go to the Company's website at www.empmetals.com
Forward-Looking Statements
Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. EMP Metals cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond EMP Metals' control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to EMP Metals' limited operating history, ability to obtain sufficient financing to carry out its exploration and development objectives on its mineral properties, obtaining the necessary permits to carry out its activities and the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, EMP Metals undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.
The Canadian Securities Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the information contained herein and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
SOURCE EMP Metals Corp.
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Canada Newswire
August 5, 2026 - 4:55 AM PDT
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