Tianqi Li hydroxide plant commissioning underway

Western Australia (WA) is a step closer to having its first lithium hydroxide facility with China's Tianqi Lithium in the commissioning phase of the A$400mn ($286mn) first stage of its plant at Kwinana, south of Perth.

The ramp-up to an output level of 24,000 t/yr will take up to six months to iron out any technical issues associated with the plant's new technology. Asian customers are expected to receive lithium hydroxide in the second half of this year.

Tianqi has also started work on the A$300mn second stage, which will double output to 48,000 t/yr by the end of this year, making it the world's largest battery-grade lithium hydroxide producer from a single site.

Spodumene concentrate for the plant is accessed from the Greenbushes mine that Tianqi jointly owns with US-based Albemarle, which is progressing its own lithium hydroxide plans. Tianqi and Albemarle are also investing hundreds of millions of dollars to increase Greenbushes' output.

Tianqi's plant is a watershed development for WA, which has mainly been seen as a supplier of lithium raw materials, not a downstream value adder.

The success of the plant will be an important indicator of what to expect when other lithium hydroxide plants are established in the state to meet rising demand from electric vehicle and battery makers.

Albemarle has started early groundworks for a lithium hydroxide plant at Bunbury, south of Perth. This plant is expected to produce around 50,000 t/yr in its first stage, but may later be expanded to 100,000 t/yr. It is also considering establishing another plant with Mineral Resources, its partner in the Wodgina lithium project.

Chile's SQM and its Australian partner Kidman Resources have announced plans for a 45,000 t/yr plant at Kwinana to add value to spodumene from the Earl Grey lithium mine.

Perth-based Neometals is planning a lithium hydroxide plant at Kalgoorlie as well as a recycling facility to extract metals from used batteries.