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neWs

WA gets super-charged

estern Australia has long been a stal- enhanced jobs and skills opportunities. Johnston echoed similar sentiments to fur-
Wwart for the country’s mineral explora- The Kwinana plant currently employs 200 ther encourage value addition in the State.
tion and exporting. Now the State is building staff and saw the use of 900 workers dur- “This is not only a significant milestone for
a reputation for downstream value addition. ing its construction. Additional workers will the JV, but also for WA, and it is proof of the
Such ambitions cleared a major hurdle be involved during the construction of Train battery-grade materials we can produce lo-
in May when a Kwinana plant produced 10t 2 production. cally,” he said.
of battery-grade lithium hydroxide, a key WA now seeks to be a ground zero for “Tianqi’s first-of-its-kind lithium hydrox-
component in lithium-ion batteries used in minerals processing and value chain ad- ide plant demonstrates WA’s capacity for
energy storage and electric vehicles. dition, securing land for processing of the downstream processing in the battery value
The plant, operated in a JV between IGO minerals, promoting research and develop- chain.
Ltd (49%) and the Chinese Tianqi Lithium ment of battery production and supporting “As demand continues to increase for
Corp (51%), achieved the feat over a several infrastructure such as EV charging stations renewable energy storage and electric car
day period. throughout the State to encourage low batteries, the McGowan Government is
It’s the first time an committed to making sure
Australian facility has pro- WA capitalises on its po-
duced commercial quan- tential to be a world-leading
tities of battery-grade lith- producer of battery-grade
ium or lithium hydroxide. materials.”
The plant, the largest of The Kwinana plant hosted
its kind outside of China, a media event following the
is now expected to ramp production milestone, with
up to 24,000 tpa produc- Johnston, Surendran, WA
tion over the next eight Development, Jobs and
months. Future produce Trade Minister Roger Cook
will be exported to cus- and Tianqi Lithium Energy
tomers around the world Australia chief executive Yas-
from Fremantle Port. min Liu.
The plant’s lithium spo- The event took place a day
dumene is sourced from before Australians across the
the Greenbushes mine country hit the polls to vote on
250km south-west of the Federal Election, which
Kwinana, under the JV saw a Labor Government
between Albemarle Corp sworn in the following week.
(50%), Tianqi (25%) and Former Australian Prime
IGO (25%). Tianqi chief operating officer Raj Surendran announces first production of Minister Scott Morrison was
On-site laboratory tests lithium hydroxide from the new plant in Kwinana, in conjunction with IGO not one to shy away from crit-
of the lithium hydroxide ical and battery minerals but
have certified it as com- was often criticised for being
mercially suitable, but independent offtake emission transport. a large supporter of the country’s fossil fuels
customers are yet to have their say, while WA’s 2022-23 State Budget, released industry, namely coal.
involved JV members have welcomed the in May, included a $60 million package to Newly elected Prime Minister Anthony Al-
first tick of approval. encourage EV use. The funds will be used banese has not ostracised fossil fuels such
“Vertical integration into downstream for rebates on EV purchases, climate action as coal, oil and gas, but has shown to be
processing is a key plank in IGO’s strategy research and an EV charging network. a more vocal supporter of renewable ener-
and we are proud to be involved in the first Tianqi chief operating officer Raj Suren- gies and critical battery minerals.
production of lithium hydroxide in commer- dran said the success of the Kwinana plant During Albanese’s campaign trail in the
cial quantities in Australia,” IGO managing demonstrated how WA can transform from lead-up to the election, he visited a wind
director Peter Bradford said. “The JV’s in- a miner and exporter to a value-adding pow- farm in New South Wales and said “[Aus-
terest in both the upstream mining asset at erhouse for the battery-powered future. tralia] can and should become a renewable
Greenbushes and the downstream refinery “Today’s milestone proves Australia has energy superpower”.
at Kwinana is emerging as a globally signifi- the capability and expertise to transition Earlier in May, Albanese pledged for an
cant integrated lithium business.” from a ‘dig it and ship it’ minerals supplier elected Labor Government to invest $1 bil-
The success in Kwinana is just one to a downstream supplier of value-added lion in value-adding to local critical minerals.
component of WA’s ambitions to increase product,” he said. “We’ll take resources like lithium and nick-
the value of its abundant battery miner- “However, we also remain acutely aware el, and instead of shipping them to another
als through local production. WA’s Future that there is more work to do to establish the country to make batteries, we’ll have what
Battery Industry Strategy, announced in Kwinana plant as a reliable, significant pro- we need to make them right here,” he said.
2019, aims to enrich the State’s place in a ducer of battery-grade lithium, starting with
battery-focused future including economic customer acceptance.” – Fraser Palamara
development, resources diversification and WA Minister for Mines and Petroleum Bill

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