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☆ Lithium giant Albemarle halts Australia plant expansion, reviews costs on weak lithium prices
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-31 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A worker walks past a pile of lithium ore at a Talison Lithium Ltd. site, a joint venture between Tianqi Lithium Corp. and Albemarle Corp., in Greenbushes, Australia. Lithium mining giant Albemarle will halt the expansion of a manufacturing plant in Australia, as the company reviews costs due to headwinds from weak lithium prices. The impacted facility, the Kemerton plant in Australia, is where the company produces battery-grade lithium hydroxide for electric vehicles and other products. It will also idle a lithium processing line at the plant and focus production on a single line. The plant's production capacity will fall to 25,000 tons from 50,000 tons currently as the line is idled, Masters said.

Persons: Kent Masters, Masters, Albemarle Organizations: Ltd, Tianqi Lithium Corp, Albemarle Corp, Albemarle, CNBC Locations: Greenbushes, Australia, Kemerton

☆ EV brand Smart plans funding led by Tianqi Lithium
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, July 13 (Reuters) - EV brand Smart said on Thursday it planned to raise $250-300 million via series-A funding which it hoped would enhance its long-term sustainable development strategy and accelerate its global development. Chinese lithium producer Tianqi Lithium Corp (002466.SZ) has agreed to invest $150 million in the fund raising, Smart said in a statement. Smart, a joint venture of Germany's Mercedes-Benz Group AG (MBGn.DE) and China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (GEELY.UL), said both firms will remain equal controlling shareholders. "Thanks to the support from Mercedes-Benz and Geely, Smart now is accelerating its global development and business operation. Meanwhile, we are more than glad to welcome the strategic investments of worldwide industry leaders, such as Tianqi Lithium," Smart's Global CEO Tong Xiangbei said in the statement.

Persons: Smart, Germany's Mercedes, Tong Xiangbei, Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh, Meg Shen Organizations: Lithium Corp, Benz Group AG, Zhejiang Geely Holding, Mercedes, Benz, Smart, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, Zhejiang

☆ Australia's Allkem, Livent to merge into $10.6 bln lithium giant
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Harish Sridharan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 10 (Reuters) - Lithium producer Allkem Ltd (AKE.AX) has agreed to merge with U.S.-based Livent Corp (LTHM.N) to create one of the world's most valuable producers of the key raw materials used in electric-vehicle batteries. The all-stock deal will create a $10.6 billion entity, the fifth-largest in the world after Albemarle Corp (ALB.N), Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQMA.SN), Ganfeng Lithium Group (002460.SZ) and Tianqi Lithium Corp (002466.SZ). ASX-listed Allkem produces lithium carbonate from its Sal de Vida facility in Argentina, which is near Livent's Hombre Mureto lithium project. Livent, based in Philadelphia, supplies lithium products to multiple U.S. automakers, including General Motors Co (GM.N), Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and BMW (BMWG.DE). Under the deal, Allkem shareholders will get one share in the combined entity for each of their shares and the company will ultimately own 56% of the new firm.

☆ Australia signs land deal for proposed battery material plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The proposed facility in Western Australia, the country's largest mining state, would be Australia's first to produce nickel-cobalt-manganese precursor cathode active material, used to make components for the lithium-ion batteries common in electric vehicles. IGO acting CEO Matt Dusci said the land deal was a "critical step" to better integrate into the battery supply chain. "We believe the area where Australia can be most competitive is in mid-stream battery chemical processing," Dusci said in a statement. A final investment decision for the project is subject to a feasibility study, due in mid-2024, and finding a project partner with battery chemical processing experience. Western Australia, which holds a majority of the country's critical mineral reserves, is at the forefront of the push to build processing capacity.

☆ Australia risks losing pole position in critical minerals race
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Melanie Burton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The Grattan Institute, a think tank, estimates the critical minerals industry could add more than $400 billion to the economy by 2050, a bigger contribution than the coal industry, Australia's no.2 export, today. They want rapid action in light of new competition from the U.S., Canada and the European Union, which have laid out critical minerals strategies including billions of dollars in incentives. King said on Wednesday a critical minerals strategy would be released "soon". However the government has not said when it would deliver its national battery strategy. "The elements for an effective critical minerals strategy are in place.

☆ Lithium Industry Looks to Australia for Refining, Not Just Mining
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Yusuf Khan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Chinese companies refine it into lithium sulfate and then process it into the lithium hydroxide used to make cathodes for batteries. China plays an outsize role in battery production, accounting for 44% of all lithium refining globally and 70% of battery cell production, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Some companies also are building European facilities for the next stage of the process: refining lithium sulfate into lithium hydroxide. Lithium mining projects in Germany and Portugal have emerged, although the permitting process can be complex, particularly if there is local opposition. In the meantime, new processing facilities can be built in three to five years, creating more opportunities for lithium mining companies.

SYDNEY, Jan 9 (Reuters) - A venture headed by China's Tianqi Lithium (002466.SZ) made an A$136 million ($94.07 million) bid to buy Australian lithium developer Essential Metals (ESS.AX), in a big test of Australian regulators' appetite for Chinese-led foreign investment. Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia (TLEA), which is 51% owned by Shenzhen- and Hong Kong-listed Tianqi Lithium Corporation and 49% by Australian miner IGO Ltd (IGO.AX), set the bid at 50 Australian cents per share. The deal requires the approval of Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), with Treasurer Jim Chalmers having the ultimate say. Essential Metals' shares surged as much as 40% on Monday, trading as high as 48.50 Australian cents. It expects the Essential Metals deal to be completed by May 2023.

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