<article><p class="lead">Australia's Greenbushes lithium mine, owned by US-based Albemarle and a joint venture between Australian battery materials firm IGO and China's Tianqi Lithium, is significantly expanding its spodumene concentrate production capacity to meet rising demand from the global battery materials supply chain.</p><p>The Greenbushes mining and processing operation in Western Australia has an existing production capacity of 1.27mn t/yr through two technical-grade plants and one chemical-grade plant, placing it significantly ahead of the country's other major spodumene producers.</p><p>Greenbushes is implementing two projects that will add around 800,000 t/yr to its output by 2025. These projects include a tailings retreatment initiative, which is being ramped up to produce 280,000 t/yr over six years, and a 520,000 t/yr chemical-grade plant. First production from the tailings plant had occurred in February, while the chemical-grade plant is expected to be commissioned in 2025 with an already-approved construction decision.</p><p>Greenbushes' owners are also considering the development of a fourth chemical-grade plant to add a further 500,000 t/yr of output, raising total potential capacity to around 2.5mn t/yr. The plant commissioning is anticipated for 2027, according to IGO. The firm has an indirect 24.9pc stake in Greenbushes. </p><p>Greenbushes' expansion is in line with medium- and longer-term supply deficits anticipated in the global lithium supply chain, IGO said during a presentation at a conference in Sydney. It cited research indicating a potential deficit of 1.2mn t/yr of lithium carbonate equivalent by 2030. </p><p>Greenbushes, with a remaining mine life of around 24 years, is the world's lowest-cost and highest-grade hard rock lithium mine, and has been operational since 1983. Some of its current output is supplying feedstock to Albemarle's new lithium hydroxide plant that is being ramped up at Kemerton, southwest of Perth, and to Tianqi/IGO's 24,000 t/yr Kwinana lithium hydroxide plant, which is in trial production.</p><p class="bylines">By Angus Macmillan </p></article>
