Lithium mining in Australia

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The Greenbushes mine in Western Australia is the largest hard-rock lithium mine in the world Open pit of the Greenbushes mine, January 2023 07.jpg
The Greenbushes mine in Western Australia is the largest hard-rock lithium mine in the world

Australia has one of the biggest lithium reserves [1] and is the biggest producer of lithium by weight, [2] with most of its production coming from mines in Western Australia. Most Australian lithium is produced from hard-rock spodumene, [3] in contrast to other major producers like Argentina, Chile and China, which produce it mainly from salt lakes. [4]

Contents

The world's largest hard-rock lithium mine, the Greenbushes mine, is in Western Australia. [5] It is co-operated by the Chinese company Tianqi Lithium and the Australian companies Talison Lithium and IGO Limited. [6] In 2021, it contributed 40% of the lithium mined in Australia. [7]

Australia is home to lithium miners Orocobre, Core Lithium, Pilbara Minerals, Mineral Resources and Altura Mining. [8]

Major sites

Greenbushes mine

The Greenbushes mine in the southwest of Western Australia is Australia's oldest and biggest lithium mine. [7] It was opened in 1984 by Greenbushes Tin, which had discovered major lithium deposits at the site four years previously while exploring for tantalum. The mine was purchased by Talison Minerals in 2007. [9]

In the year to July 2022, Greenbushes produced 1.13 million tons of spodumene. [10]

Mount Marion

The Mount Marion mine is an open-pit mine in Western Australia near Kalgoorlie. It was originally developed by a joint venture between Mineral Resources and Neometals and became operational in 2017. Ganfeng Lithium purchased Neometals' stake in 2018. The mine is today co-owned equally by Mineral Resources and Ganfang. [11]

Mount Marion contains the world's second-biggest high-grade lithium mineral resources, with an estimated 71 million tonnes of spodumene. [11]

Pilgangoora

Pilbara Minerals produces out of its Pilgangoora lithium-tantalum project located in Western Australia's Pilbara region. [12] The site is located 120 km from Port Hedland. By 2018, the company had "attracted a group of high quality, experience global offtake partners including Gangfeng Lithium, General Lithium, Great Wall Motor Company and POSCO" as potential customers of its Pilgangoora project [12] and was exploring options to scale the project. [12] [ needs update ]

The Pilgangoora mine was owned by Altura Mining until 2021, when the company went bankrupt. Its assets were purchased by Pilbara Minerals for A$ 201 million ( US$ 151 million). [13]

Pilbara Minerals commenced construction of its Pilgangoora project in January 2017 which was completed in late July 2018, producing its first lithium concentrate one month later. [14] Pilbara Minerals delivered 111,199 dry metric tonnes (dmt) to date[ when? ] for 2019 financial year with forecasted production for its March quarter between 47,000 and 52,000 dmt. [15] On 28 March 2019 Pilbara announced it will commence a partnering process to support its expansion of the Pilgangoora project. [16]

Mount Cattlin

Ravensthorpe, Western Australia Location: 541 km (336 mi) ESE of Perth; 50 km (31 mi) NNW of Hopetoun Ravensthorpe location map in Western Australia.PNG
Ravensthorpe, Western Australia Location: 541 km (336 mi) ESE of Perth; 50 km (31 mi) NNW of Hopetoun

The Mt Cattlin mine is an open-pit mine near Ravensthorpe, Western Australia. It was developed by Galaxy Resources (now Allkem) and opened in 2010. The site contains an estimated 8.2 million tonnes of lithium reserves with a lithium oxide equivalent content of 1.23%. In 2019, the mine produced 192,000 dry metric tonnes of spodumene. [18] Mining was temporarily suspended there in 2013 due to a drop in lithium prices, but was restarted in 2016. [19]

Processed ore is shipped out via the port of Esperance around 200 km east of the mine. [18]

Wodgina

The Wodgina lithium mine in Western Australia is operated by a joint venture between Albemarle and Mineral Resources. It has a theoretical annual production capacity of 750,000 tonnes. The site was inactive from 2019–2021, as low lithium prices made its operation unprofitable. [20]

Historically, Wodgina was primarily an iron mine. Iron extraction there ceased in 2017. [21]

Finniss Mine

The Finniss Lithium Project in the Northern Territory is the only Australian lithium mine outside of Western Australia. It opened in 2022 and is operated by Core Lithium. [22] The project will unfold in stages, initially with open-pit mining near Grants and Hang Gong, as well as underground mining at the Grants, BP33, and Carlton prospects. [23] The mine is estimated to contain 31 million tonnes of lithium-containing minerals, with a lithium oxide-equivalent content of 1.3%. [24] During construction, the project was given Major Project Status by the Australian government, which meant it was eligible for a streamlined federal approval process and help in dealing with local and state approval processes. [25] Battery-grade lithium hydroxide was produced as part of the test works on spodumene mineral concentrate samples from the project in April 2021. [23] Tesla, Inc. has contracted for 110,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate over four years from the Finniss lithium mine. [26] [22]

Mount Holland

The Mount Holland mine is an open-pit mine situated 105 km southeast of Southern Cross. Developed by Covalent Lithium (a joint venture between the Chilean company Sociedad Química y Minera and the Australian company Wesfarmers), with operations commencing in late 2023. [27] The project plans to produce 380,000 t of spodumene concentrate to a refinery in Kwinana. The refinery is planned to produce 50,000 t of lithium hydroxide a year with a sodium sulfate by-product. [28]

Similar to Wodgina, the location was previously used for gold mining as the Bounty gold mine from 1989 to 2001, with much of the infrastructure removed prior to construction.

Other

Many Australian lithium producers also operate outside of Australia. For instance, Allkem, in addition to operating the Mt Cattlin mine, sources much of its lithium from various Argentinian sites and James Bay, Canada. [29]

Table of Lithium Mines and Deposits in Australia

Lithium Mines and Deposits in Australia [30]
NameAlternate NamesStateCoordinatesStatusCommoditiesGeological ProvinceGeological AgeDeposit Model [31]
Mount Marion Western Australia 31°04′26″S121°27′40″E / 31.0738°S 121.4611°E / -31.0738; 121.4611 Operating Mine Lithium, Lithium oxide Yilgarn Craton, Kalgoorlie Terrane
WodginaMt Cassiterite, Mt Francisco, Strelley Western Australia 21°10′29″S118°40′35″E / 21.1746°S 118.6764°E / -21.1746; 118.6764 Operating Mine Lithium oxide, Tantalum pentoxide, Tin oxide/Cassiterite, Niobium, Gemstones, Tantalum, Lithium, Tin Pilbara Craton Archean Environment: Magmatic, Group: Pegmatite, Type: LCT pegmatite
Pilgangoora (Altura)Pilgangoora (Altura Mining) Western Australia 20°59′33″S118°55′11″E / 20.9924°S 118.9197°E / -20.9924; 118.9197 Operating Mine Lithium oxide, Lithium, Tin, Tantalum Pilbara Craton Archean Environment: Magmatic, Group: Pegmatite, Type: LCT pegmatite
Greenbushes Western Australia 33°51′21″S116°04′00″E / 33.8558°S 116.0668°E / -33.8558; 116.0668 Operating Mine Niobium, Kaolin, Tantalum pentoxide, Lithium oxide, Niobium pentoxide, (Tin, Lithium, Tantalum) Yilgarn Craton, Southwest Terrane, Western Gneiss Terrane Archean Environment: Magmatic, Group: Pegmatite, Type: LCT pegmatite
Mount Cattlin Western Australia 33°33′45″S120°02′17″E / 33.5624°S 120.038°E / -33.5624; 120.038 Operating Mine Tantalum pentoxide, Lithium, Niobium pentoxide, Niobium, Tantalum, Lithium oxide Yilgarn Craton
Ravensthorpe Western Australia 33°36′27″S120°21′45″E / 33.6074°S 120.3626°E / -33.6074; 120.3626 Mineral Deposit Lithium, Lithium oxide
Pilgangoora (Pilbara Minerals)Pilgangoora (Pilbara Minerals) Western Australia 21°04′20″S118°53′43″E / 21.0723°S 118.8953°E / -21.0723; 118.8953 Operating Mine Lithium, Tantalum, Tantalum pentoxide, Lithium oxide Archean
Earl GreyMount Holland Western Australia 32°05′17″S119°44′56″E / 32.088°S 119.749°E / -32.088; 119.749 Under Development Iron oxide, Lithium, Lithium oxide
Finniss Lithium Project Northern Territory 12°40′00″S130°46′39″E / 12.6667°S 130.7775°E / -12.6667; 130.7775 Operating Mine Lithium, Lithium oxide

Statistics

Australian lithium exports in lithium carbonate equivalents (LCE) and Australian dollars for the financial years 2013-14 through 2021-22 Australian lithium exports.svg
Australian lithium exports in lithium carbonate equivalents (LCE) and Australian dollars for the financial years 2013–14 through 2021–22

In financial year 2021-22, Australia produced 330,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent. [32] For comparison, Chile, the world's second biggest lithium producer, produced 45,000 tonnes in 2018. China, the third-biggest, produced 38,000 tonnes. [33] As of 2023, 53% of the world's annual lithium supply is mined in Australia. [34] 96% of it is exported to China for processing. [35]

Worldwide production increased by 74 percent from 2016 to 2017, predominantly due to a "threefold increase in Australia's spodumene production". [36] In 2017 Australia overtook Chile as the largest producer of lithium. [37]

According to the United States Geological Survey, "five spodumene operations in Australia and two brine operations each in Argentina and Chile accounted for the majority of world lithium production". "The leading spodumene operation in Australia increased its spodumene concentrate production by about 40 percent in 2018 and remained the world's largest lithium producer". [38]

Environmental impact

Like all mines, lithium mines significantly impact their surrounding environments. Most lithium mines in Australia are surface mines. [39] The most immediate impact of these mines is the removal of all plants, soil and wildlife on the site of the mine. The mining process generates inhalable and respirable dust particles. [40]

Australian lithium extraction has a higher carbon footprint than lithium mining elsewhere. This is primarily because Australian lithium mines use extremely carbon-intensive power sources, especially diesel, for extraction and processing, and because most of it is subsequently shipped to China for further processing, which also uses highly carbon-intensive fuels. [41]

Investment in Australian lithium mining companies

Reserve Bank of Australia, 65 Martin Place, Sydney NSW 2000 RBA2.jpg
Reserve Bank of Australia, 65 Martin Place, Sydney NSW 2000

Lithium may be extracted either by mining or from lithium brines. [43] More capital outlay is needed for hard-rock spodumene mining than for lithium brines. [43] This plays a role when identifying whether a project is worth an investment or conversely, if it should be abandoned. [44] [45]

Market demand is another major factor. [46] The rapid growth and expansion of the electric vehicle sector has caused a surge in demand for lithium for lithium-ion batteries. [47] This generates higher revenues [48] for existing and new market entrants, as reported in the Sydney Morning Herald: "Pilbara Minerals managing director and chief executive Ken Brinsden said the demand for higher quality battery materials put WA in the drivers seat" [49] The rising demand in the market for lithium "shows no signs of slowing" [50] in Australia, which hosts the "highest economic concentrations of lithium via several hard rock deposits". [51] However, as reported by the Australian Financial Review, as supply of lithium grows, the value of existing companies falls. [52] Supply continues to grow as a royal settlement struck by Chilean producer SQM gives the company permission over the next 7 years to more than triple its production, [52] also reported in the Sydney Morning Herald, "but federal forecasts in the resources and energy quarterly found while WA will be pulling out a record 419,000 tonnes of lithium ore spodumene from the ground, it won’t reap the same high prices the industry has experienced." [49]

Battery production

"The Faculty of Science & Engineering have established an enviable suite of facilities to conduct research and teaching, allowing staff and students access to world-class facilities." Curtin Building 216 Innovation.jpg
"The Faculty of Science & Engineering have established an enviable suite of facilities to conduct research and teaching, allowing staff and students access to world-class facilities."

The Australian Government is encouraging investment in the lithium industry. [54] As of 10 April 2019, The Federal Government and the State Government along with industry had agreed to fund a new modern national lithium research centre valued at $135 million which "will operate out of Curtin University in Perth", for $53 million. The facility aims to make Western Australia a hub for battery-making and research surrounding lithium battery manufacturing. [54]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lithium</span> Chemical element, symbol Li and atomic number 3

Lithium is a chemical element; it has symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly reactive and flammable, and must be stored in vacuum, inert atmosphere, or inert liquid such as purified kerosene or mineral oil. It exhibits a metallic luster. It corrodes quickly in air to a dull silvery gray, then black tarnish. It does not occur freely in nature, but occurs mainly as pegmatitic minerals, which were once the main source of lithium. Due to its solubility as an ion, it is present in ocean water and is commonly obtained from brines. Lithium metal is isolated electrolytically from a mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lithium carbonate</span> Chemical compound

Lithium carbonate is an inorganic compound, the lithium salt of carbonic acid with the formula Li
2CO
3. This white salt is widely used in processing metal oxides. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines for its efficacy in the treatment of mood disorders such as bipolar disorder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spodumene</span> Pyroxene, inosilicate mineral rich in lithium

Spodumene is a pyroxene mineral consisting of lithium aluminium inosilicate, LiAl(SiO3)2, and is a commercially important source of lithium. It occurs as colorless to yellowish, purplish, or lilac kunzite (see below), yellowish-green or emerald-green hiddenite, prismatic crystals, often of great size. Single crystals of 14.3 m (47 ft) in size are reported from the Black Hills of South Dakota, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ravensthorpe, Western Australia</span> Town in Western Australia

Ravensthorpe is a town 541 km south-east of Perth and 40 km inland from the south coast of Western Australia. It is the seat of government of the Shire of Ravensthorpe. At the 2021 census, Ravensthorpe had a population of 2,085.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mining in Western Australia</span>

Mining in Western Australia, together with the petroleum industry in the state, accounted for 94% of the State's and 46% of Australia's income from total merchandise exports in 2019–20. The state of Western Australia hosted 123 predominantly higher value and export-oriented mining projects and hundreds of smaller quarries and mines. The principal projects produced more than 99 per cent of the industry's total sales value.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenbushes, Western Australia</span> Town in Western Australia

Greenbushes is a timber and mining town located in the South West region of Western Australia. The 2021 population was 365.

Allkem Limited, known as Orocobre Limited until 30 November 2021. Headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Allkem's portfolio includes lithium brine operations in Argentina, a hard-rock lithium operation in Australia and a lithium hydroxide conversion facility in Japan. Allkem is dual listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange. In May 2023, Allkem agreed terms to merge with Livent.

Talison Minerals Pty Ltd was a mining company based in Australia. It was split into Talison Lithium and Talison Tantalum, now known as Global Advanced Metals, in 2009. The two largest mining operations of the company were the Greenbushes mine near Greenbushes, Western Australia and Wodgina, Pilbara Region, Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iron ore mining in Western Australia</span> Mining in Western Australia

Iron ore mining in Western Australia, in the 2018–19 financial year, accounted for 54 percent of the total value of the state's resource production, with a value of A$78.2 billion. The overall value of the minerals and petroleum industry in Western Australia was A$145 billion in 2018–19, a 26 percent increase on the previous financial year.

The Wodgina mine is an exhausted iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 90 kilometres south of Port Hedland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenbushes mine</span> Mine in South West region of Western Australia

The Greenbushes lithium mine is an open-pit mining operation which is in Western Australia and is the world's largest hard-rock lithium mine. It is located to the south of the town of Greenbushes, Western Australia. The Greenbushes lithium mine produces approximately 1.95 million tonnes of lithium spodumene annually. The mine is 250 kilometres (160 mi) south of Perth and 90 kilometres (56 mi) southeast of the Port of Bunbury.

The Mt Cattlin mine is a spodumene-tantalite mine 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi) north of Ravensthorpe, Western Australia. In 2019 Mt Cattlin had a reserve of 8.2 million tonnes of ore grading 1.29% Li2O and 155 ppm Ta2O5.

The Manono-Kitolo mine is a former tin and coltan mine, which also contains one of the largest lithium reserves globally, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The mine is located in southern Democratic Republic of the Congo in Tanganyika Province. The Manono-Kitolo mine has reserves amounting to 120 million tonnes of lithium ore grading 0.6% lithium thus resulting 0.72 million tonnes of lithium.

Galaxy Resources Limited was an Australian public mining company. It was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange until it merged with fellow lithium producer Orocobre in August 2021 to form Allkem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tianqi Lithium</span>

Tianqi Lithium Corp is a Chinese mining and manufacturing company based in Sichuan.

Pilbara Minerals is an Australian lithium and tantalite mining company.

Mineral Resources Limited is a Western Australian mining services company.

The Finnis Lithium Project is a lithium mine being developed near Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. The project is being developed by Core Lithium.

Ganfeng Lithium Co., Ltd. is a company that produces lithium, lithium products, other metals, and batteries in mainland China and globally. It was founded by Li Liangbin in 2000 and is headquartered in Xinyu, Jiangxi. It is the largest lithium salt producer in China and the third largest in the world, as well as the second largest lithium processor in the world. It is traded on both the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and has a market capitalization of US$26 billion.

Snow Lake lithium mine is a lithium mine located on a 55,000-acre site 400 miles north of Winnipeg, Canada. Notably, the mine will be operated using 100% electric power, via hydropower and electric equipment. The mine expects to process the lithium ore into 6% spodumene. It signed a memorandum of understanding to supply Korean battery maker LG, at a nearby hydroxide processing plant.

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