Sod turned on Kwinana lithium plant

China’s Tianqi Lithium is tracking towards a decision on whether to follow up development of its $400 million lithium plant at Kwinana with a major expansion of its Greenbushes feeder mine.

Premier Colin Barnett today joined Tianqi management at a ground-breaking ceremony for the proposed plant, which is ironically located on a 20ha site formerly occupied by Rio Tinto’s HiSmelt pig iron project, one of WA’s more notable failed exercises in value-adding minerals processing.

The Kwinana plant will use lithium concentrate from the Tianqi-controlled Greenbushes mine, 250km south of Perth, to produce 24,000 tonnes a year of lithium hydroxide for use in lithium batteries.

Tianqi owns 51 per cent of Greenbushes and has been mulling a potential doubling of its production of chemical-grade lithium concentrate, with the reported aim of deciding on an upgrade in early 2017.

Tianqi chief executive Vivian Wu took a cautious line on the company’s expansion studies at today’s ceremony.

“We are trying to evaluate the possibilities but there is nothing that is final,” Ms Wu said.

“Greenbushes has a lot of potential, and certainly has the strength to support our network,” she said.

The new plant will create 115 jobs when it opens in 2018.

Source: https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/wa/a/32874990/sod-turned-on-kwinana-lithium-plant/#page1