Tag: Kwinana Lithium plant

Image: Talison Lithium. BY ELIZABETH FABRI TALISON Lithium’s mammoth Greenbushes mine in south-west WA is entering its next phase of growth with a $320 million expansion to double production nearing completion, a $516 million second expansion greenlit to begin in 2019, and a further $1 billion commitment made towards downstream processing. Talison Lithium’s owners Tianqi Lithium and US group Albemarle are pouring some serious capital into their long-running Greenbushes mine in WA’s south-west as the State begins its transition into a global hub for battery metals and value-added processing. In early 2018 the State Government established a Lithium and Energy Materials Taskforce aimed at understanding opportunities from the emerging industry and creating a strategy going forward. The Greenbushes mine – 250km…

Image: Tianqi Lithium Australia. BY ELIZABETH FABRI WA spodumene producers are moving downstream to cash-in on sky-high lithium hydroxide prices. But is the capital spend on processing infrastructure worth the risk? 2017 was a game-changer for the WA lithium industry. In 2016 there was just a few producing mines in the State; in 2018 this number looks set to explode as investors pour capital into the swarm of lithium mines now at various stages of development. The Neometals and Mineral Resources Mt Marion JV entered production in late 2016, followed shortly by Galaxy Resources’ Mt Cattlin project which exported its first shipment of lithium concentrate in January 2017. Next cabs off the rank are Pilbara Minerals’ and Altura Mining’s identically…

All images: Tianqi Lithium Australia By Elizabeth Fabri WITH construction of the newly approved Kwinana lithium processing plant off to a flying start, discussion surrounding a subsequent expansion at the nearby Greenbushes mine has the WA lithium industry bullish for the future. There is no denying 2016 was a watershed year for lithium. Improved investor sentiment coupled with a hike in prices has seen the commodity climb as interest in battery technology soared. While many projects have sprung up across WA, government approval of Tianqi Lithium Australia’s $400 million Kwinana lithium plant in September was ‘the icing on the cake’, and was expected to generate up to 500 construction jobs and more than 115 full time production positions. Once operational in…