\u00a9 iStockSkyhobo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cThe future of our business is one where Europe, North America, Asia, and China are separate regions. They\u2019ll have their own plants. Then, we\u2019ll have workhorse plants where, for strategic reasons, the conversion is near a resource as in Australia. It\u2019s an increasingly regionalised market and, because of our resource base and scale, [we\u2019re] very advantaged to be able to pursue a strategy that is so broad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pilbara Minerals\u2019 downstream endeavour<\/h3>\n Lithium newcomer, Pilbara Minerals, wants to adopt a downstream processing model too. High global prices mean that it has substantially boosted profits in the last couple of years, and now has the influence to value add. It aims to upgrade the spodumene from its Pilgangoora mine by producing lithium phosphate salts. This is being done using an innovative calcination technology from Calix, an Australian company that develops patented methods to deliver environmentally better processing solutions.<\/p>\n
The so-called Mid-Stream Project that Calix has with Pilbara has tested ore in a demonstration plant to produce lithium phosphate salts. The aim is to supply battery chemicals, including lithium ferro phosphate (LFP) to battery cathode makers, along with lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide. The company says that a scoping study has provided the incentive for them to construct a demonstration plant.<\/p>\n
Pilbara is also pursuing a second, more advanced venture which involves South Korea\u2019s POSCO. This involves building a lithium hydroxide plant in South Korea to produce up to 43,000 tonnes each year of lithium hydroxide monohydrate. Commissioning of the first train is expected late this year.<\/p>\n
Expanding production of lithium hydroxide<\/h3>\n Another comparatively new lithium producer, Mineral Resources, is making progress on plans of its own. It runs two large mines, Mount Marion in the Goldfields region and Wodgina in the Pilbara, and has partnerships with Ganfeng and Albermarle respectively to upgrade its ore to lithium hydroxide. Spodumene from both mines is currently shipped offshore. But the company has recently built a hydroxide plant near Bunbury, 160km south of Perth, with Albermarle, and is initially treating ore from its Greenbushes mine as production ramps up.<\/p>\n
Mineral Resource\u2019s Managing Director, Chris Ellison, explained that there would be joint ownership of downstream production from Kemerton. \u201cWe are operating as if the deal was done. There\u2019s been no rush for us to do it. We\u2019re producing, and we\u2019ve got all the production until the end of [2023] locked away to be turned into hydroxide. All of the production is going to be marketed on the indices. We don\u2019t have any long-term contracts. But that\u2019s the nature of MinRes. That\u2019s what we have always done. We just take the money on the day. And in a rising market, it\u2019s a good ride.\u201d<\/p>\n\u00a9 shutterstock\/thanasit thinwongphet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nEllison is confident in the deal he has with Albemarle. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have joint ownership of that downstream production. We haven\u2019t figured out how that is going to be yet, but there\u2019s no rush because there\u2019s plenty of capacity out there to toll treat all the dirt we\u2019re producing. All of us in the lithium business have decided that we just don\u2019t want to be spot sellers anymore. We want to be hydroxide producers. We basically stop selling it on the open market. We want to bring most of those benefits back home to WA. My wish is to build the next hydroxide plant up at Wodgina, here in WA.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s five-year goal is to expand hydroxide output to a minimum of 118,000 tonnes. \u201cThat puts us sort of right up there on the stage,\u201d Ellison said. \u201cAnd, there are other opportunities sitting out there. We are looking at them as they come along, and I have no doubt that we will be able to secure a few more. We would have a high-quality product. It would be highly acceptable to the world. It would attract a premium, because it would be from WA. It\u2019s a very, very ethical project.\u201d<\/p>\n
Global demand for lithium is climbing<\/h3>\n This feverish activity within the world\u2019s largest lithium-producing region comes at a time when global lithium buyers are experiencing a severe squeeze. Costs for them have taken a new, steep upward climb as supply deficits in both North America and Europe become larger. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence\u2019s latest quarterly forecast said that incentives in the US had accelerated demand for lithium. Both the US and Canada had introduced loans and grants to secure supply, but only to limited effect. Benchmark\u2019s principal analyst, Dr Cameron Perks, said such moves were needed to incentivise lithium production and refining rather than support the European Battery Alliance\u2019s call to keep battery manufacturing onshore.<\/p>\n
Localisation is a critical factor in the future of sustainable EVs. For instance, Benchmark estimates that European cell demand in 2032 will be 12 times more than lithium supply from within the region. This compares with an estimated 2.5 times more for demand in North America, where new steps have been taken by the US Government to stimulate production across the entire industry chain, including in lithium mining.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lithium Power International outlines the growing importance of value-adding for Australian lithium mining companies. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":30920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24502],"tags":[24206,24209],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Value adding: A major focus for Australian lithium mining companies<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n