Lithium hydroxide refinery plans advance

NMT continues to advance its WA Lithium Hydroxide Project, whichlooks to beneficiate 6% spodumene concentrate - sourced initially from MtMarion -  to higher value lithiumhydroxide (LiOH).  On 10 April 2018, NMTannounced positive vendor test results, with 99.99% pure lithium hydroxideproduced from run-of-mine concentrates using a conventional direct conversionsulphate process. On 1 May 2018, NMT announced that engineering firm M+W Groupwere awarded the contract to perform the FEED Study for the Kalgoorlie LithiumRefinery (KLR). Most recently, on 6 June 2018, NMT announced that it hadentered into an option agreement with the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder (CKB) tosub-lease a 40-hectare site in a new industrial estate at West Kalgoorlie. Inaddition, NMT and CKB have executed a Memorandum of Understanding providing forassistance in procurement of certain infrastructure and utilities for theproposed refinery.

 NMT’s 10,000tpa LiOH plant is the fifthlithium refinery planned for WA; other plants under development or planned fordevelopment include 2 x 45,000tpa refineries at Kwinana  - operatedby NYSE-listed Sociedad Quimica Y Minera (SQM) & Kidman Resources’(ASX:KDR) and China’s Tianqi, a 45,000tpa refinery at Kemerton operated byNYSE-listed Albemarle, and 2x15ktpa refineries planned by Mineral Resources(ASX:MIN) for its Wodgina mine in the Pilbara. 

At a typical capex cost ofA$20,000/tonne annual capacity, the above projects could in aggregate result ina combined capex injection into the state of some A$3.5bn. Not surprisingly,the Western Australian government announced in May 2018 that it wasestablishing a taskforce – led by Mines Minister Bill Johnson - to facilitateand encourage companies to invest in value-adding lithium downstream processing.