American Battery Technology Company Achieves Major Milestone with U.S. BLM Acceptance of Plan of Operations for Tonopah Flats Lithium Project
Reno, Nev., Sept. 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American Battery Technology Company (NASDAQ: ABAT), an integrated critical mineral manufacturing company that is advancing its primary critical mineral mining and refining facilities, as well as its secondary critical mineral recycling operations, announced that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has completed its review and deemed accepted its mine and refinery Plan of Operations for the company's Tonopah Flats Lithium Project (TFLP) in Nevada.
This acceptance of its mine and refinery Plan of Operations is the culmination of over four years of work, as the American Battery Technology Company (ABTC) team has been developing this critical mineral resource, performing environmental baseline studies of the site, and demonstrating the performance of its internally-developed technologies for the manufacturing of high-purity lithium hydroxide from this claystone resource since the Fall of 2021. This project has been selected by President’s Trumps National Energy Dominance Council (NEDC) and the FAST-41 Permitting Council as a Priority Project and has been designated for streamlined federal permitting.
"The BLM's certification of our mine and refinery Plan of Operations as accepted is a major accomplishment by the ABTC team and a critical milestone in the construction and commercialization of our critical mineral Tonopah Flats Lithium Project," stated Ryan Melsert, American Battery Technology Company CEO. "This milestone reflects years of technical development, environmental studies, and project planning by our team. We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with federal, state, tribal, local, and community stakeholders as this project advances into an operating commercial scale critical mineral mine and refinery.”
This project is designed to bolster domestic production of critical minerals needed for the proliferation of grid-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) supporting domestic datacenters and artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and consumer electronics. ABTC has developed a first-of-kind extraction and refining process specifically engineered for these claystone resources, and these proprietary technologies are designed to significantly reduce refinery operating costs through reduced chemical consumption, water use, and waste generation compared to conventional processing methods.
The TFLP encompasses over 10,000 acres of public land in Esmeralda and Nye counties in central Nevada. This project has received significant support from the federal government, having been designated a FAST-41 Covered Project, been awarded a competitive $58 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to support construction of the initial 5,000 tonnes per year processing train, and received a $900 million Letter of Interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States to support the expansion of this project to a capacity of 30,000 tonnes per year, reflecting its national significance. The FAST-41 designation recognizes projects that can strengthen domestic supply chains and provides enhanced interagency coordination, transparency, and permitting schedule accountability while maintaining all environmental review requirements.
Following the Bureau of Land Management's acceptance of the Plan of Operations, the next step in the federal review process is publication of a Notice of Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). ABTC will continue supporting the BLM's review process and engaging with stakeholders as the project advances through federal, state, and local permitting requirements. As a FAST-41 Covered Project, key permitting milestones and schedules are publicly available through the Federal Permitting Dashboard, providing transparency throughout this permitting phase of development.
Outlined in the TFLP mine and refinery Plan of Operations, the project is designed to support long-term domestic lithium production while advancing a project plan focused on responsible development, resource efficiency, and regional economic opportunity. Key Highlights from the Mine Plan of Operations:
- One of the largest known lithium claystone resource deposits in the United States, located about six miles west of Tonopah, Nevada, the project spans approximately 10,700 acres of public land in Esmeralda and Nye Counties
- An estimated mineral resource of approximately 21.3 million metric tonnes of accessible lithium hydroxide monohydrate classified under SEC SK 1300 standards, including 2.7 million tonnes that are further classified as proven or probable reserves
- A mine and refinery designed to produce up to 30,000 tonnes per year of lithium hydroxide monohydrate at full build-out
- An estimated 68-year mine life and approximately 69-year total project life, including construction and reclamation
- Approximately 1,300 construction jobs and 300 operations jobs expected to be supported by the project
Project updates can be followed through the Bureau of Land Management's ePlanning website here.
Additional information about the Tonopah Flats Lithium Project is available at www.americanbatterytechnology.com.
About American Battery Technology Company
American Battery Technology Company (ABTC), headquartered in Reno, Nevada, has pioneered first-of-kind technologies to unlock domestically manufactured and recycled battery metals critically needed to help meet the significant demand from the electric vehicle, stationary storage, and consumer electronics industries. Committed to a circular supply chain for battery metals, ABTC works to continually innovate and master new battery metals technologies that power a global transition to electrification and the future of sustainable energy.
Inferred Resource
Inferred Mineral Resource is that part of a mineral resource for which quantity and grade or quality are estimated on the basis of limited geological evidence and sampling. The level of geological uncertainty associated with an Inferred Mineral Resource is too high to apply relevant technical and economic factors likely to influence the prospects of economic extraction in a manner useful for evaluation of economic viability. Because an Inferred Mineral Resource has the lowest level of geological confidence of all mineral resources, which prevents the application of the modifying factors in a manner useful for evaluation of economic viability, an Inferred Mineral Resource may not be considered when assessing the economic viability of a mining project, and may not be converted to a mineral reserve.
Indicated Resource
Indicated Mineral Resource is that part of a mineral resource for which quantity and grade or quality are estimated on the basis of adequate geological evidence and sampling. The level of geological certainty associated with an Indicated Mineral Resource is sufficient to allow a qualified person to apply modifying factors in sufficient detail to support mine planning and evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. Because an Indicated Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than the level of confidence of a Measured Mineral Resource, an Indicated Mineral Resource may only be converted to a Probable Mineral Reserve.
Measured Resource
Measured Mineral Resource is that part of a mineral resource for which quantity and grade or quality are estimated on the basis of conclusive geological evidence and sampling. The level of geological certainty associated with a Measured Mineral Resource is sufficient to allow a qualified person to apply modifying factors, as defined in this section, in sufficient detail to support detailed mine planning and final evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. Because a Measured Mineral Resource has a higher level of confidence than the level of confidence of either an Indicated Mineral Resource or an Inferred Mineral Resource, a Measured Mineral Resource may be converted to a Proven Mineral Reserve or to a Probable Mineral Reserve.
Mineral Reserve
Mineral Reserve is an estimate of tonnage and grade or quality of indicated and measured mineral resources that, in the opinion of the qualified person, can be the basis of an economically viable project. More specifically, it is the economically mineable part of a measured or indicated mineral resource, which includes diluting materials and allowances for losses that may occur when the material is mined or extracted.
Probable Mineral Reserve
Probable Mineral Reserve is the economically mineable part of an indicated and, in some cases, a measured mineral resource.
Proven Mineral Reserve
Proven Mineral Reserve is the economically mineable part of a measured mineral resource and can only result from conversion of a measured mineral resource.
Pre-Feasibility Study
A Preliminary Feasibility Study (or Pre-Feasibility Study) is a comprehensive study of a range of options for the technical and economic viability of a mineral project that has advanced to a stage where a qualified person has determined (in the case of underground mining) a preferred mining method, or (in the case of surface mining) a pit configuration, and in all cases has determined an effective method of mineral processing and an effective plan to sell the product. A Pre-Feasibility Study includes a financial analysis based on reasonable assumptions, based on appropriate testing, about the modifying factors and the evaluation of any other relevant factors that are sufficient for a qualified person to determine if all or part of the Indicated and Measured Mineral Resources may be converted to mineral reserves at the time of reporting. The financial analysis must have the level of detail necessary to demonstrate, at the time of reporting, that extraction is economically viable. A Pre-Feasibility Study is less comprehensive and results in a lower confidence level than a feasibility study. A Pre-Feasibility Study is more comprehensive and results in a higher confidence level than an Initial Assessment.
Initial Assessment
An Initial Assessment is a preliminary technical and economic study of the economic potential of all or parts of mineralization to support the disclosure of mineral resources. The Initial Assessment must be prepared by a qualified person and must include appropriate assessments of reasonably assumed technical and economic factors, together with any other relevant operational factors, that are necessary to demonstrate at the time of reporting that there are reasonable prospects for economic extraction. An Initial Assessment is required for disclosure of mineral resources but cannot be used as the basis for disclosure of mineral reserves. An Initial Assessment is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied that would enable them to be classified as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the economic results of an initial assessment will be realized. The mineral resource estimates presented in the ABTC Tonopah Flats Initial Assessment were performed by third-party, qualified person RESPEC, LLC and were classified by geological and quantitative confidence in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Regulation S-K 1300.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking statements." Although the American Battery Technology Company's (the "Company") management believes that such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee that such expectations are, or will be, correct. Forward looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning: the impact of the Directors and our request for an exception, changes in government policy regarding critical minerals, and our ability to develop domestic sales channels of black mass; offtake agreements with customers; the Company’s future sales of products to customers, including the amounts, timing, and types of products included within those sales; potential loans, grants, and debt financing arrangements, including due diligence, the amount and type of debt, its syndication, and the schedule for closing; the scale of the battery recycling operations; the anticipated production from the integrated pilot facility; the scale, construction, and operation of the battery recycling operations, integrated pilot facility, Tonopah Flats Lithium Project, and commercial lithium mine and refinery; and the costs, schedules, production and economic projections associated with the foregoing. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, which could cause the Company's future results to differ materially from those anticipated. Potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, risks and uncertainties related to the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern; interpretations or reinterpretations of geologic information, unfavorable exploration results, inability to obtain permits required for future exploration, development or production, general economic conditions and conditions affecting the industries in which the Company operates; the uncertainty of regulatory requirements and approvals; fluctuating mineral and commodity prices, final investment approval and the ability to obtain necessary financing on acceptable terms or at all. Additional information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements is available in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2025. The Company assumes no obligation to update any of the information contained or referenced in this press release.
Attachment
