- New lithium project to boost Western Australia's battery and
critical mineral credentials
- Project to produce enough lithium hydroxide to power one
million electric vehicles
- More
than 1,000 jobs created during construction with 350 jobs during operations
- $60
million road upgrade investment by the WA Government to enable new project
The
Cook Government has congratulated joint venture partners Covalent Lithium,
Wesfarmers and Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM) on the
successful opening of the Mt Holland lithium mine and concentrator project.
Premier
Roger Cook, Treasurer Rita Saffioti and Mines and Petroleum Minister David
Michael were on site to celebrate the occasion on the Kalamaia Kalarku Kaprun
people's Country of the Marlinyu and Ghoorlie trees.
The Mt Holland lithium project consists of an
open-cut mine and concentrator, located 110km southeast of Southern Cross in the
Wheatbelt region, and a refinery currently being
constructed in the Kwinana
Industrial Area.
The
Cook Government has played a key role in enabling this project by working with
the joint venture partners to fund and deliver the Moorine Rock to Mt Holland
road. This $60 million commitment has improved road safety and freight
efficiency, supporting the future growth of the mine.
With
an expected cost of $2.6 billion, the project is supporting 1,000 jobs during
construction and 350 jobs during operations.
Mt Holland will produce 380,000 tonnes of
spodumene concentrate per year, which will be refined into 50,000 tonnes
of battery-quality lithium hydroxide. This is enough to power around one
million electric vehicles.
The Kwinana
refinery is expected to deliver its first lithium hydroxide in early 2025.
Mt
Holland mined its first ore in December 2022, and began crushing in
May 2023. The concentrator was successfully commissioned in the second
half of 2023 and is now in the ramp-up phase.
Comments attributed to Premier Roger Cook:
"Congratulations to Covalent Lithium, Wesfarmers and SQM on the opening of their impressive Mt Holland mine and soon-to-be-completed
refinery in Kwinana.
"This multi-billion-dollar investment in Western Australia will support
hundreds of jobs and deliver a significant boost to our value-added industry.
"WA is powering the global shift to net zero, and today's opening is a
vote of confidence in the long-term future of our battery and critical minerals
industries – diversifying our economy and creating local jobs for the future."
Comments attributed to Treasurer Rita Saffioti:
"Our Government
continues to back projects that create local jobs, strengthen our economy and set
up Western Australia's long-term future.
"Our $60 million
commitment to support the Moorine Rock to Mt Holland road upgrades has been
essential to getting this project off the ground. Last year when the Australian
Government withdrew their funding, we stepped up to fill the gap they had left
and make sure the project was delivered.
"WA has hit a
number of milestones as we progress towards becoming a global battery materials
manufacturing hub, and this investment in lithium hydroxide will further
support these earlier successes.
"It's great to see
the refinery set up in the Kwinana Industrial Area, which has excellent road,
rail, port and energy connections."
Comments attributed to Mines and Petroleum Minister David Michael:
"It's great
to be here in the Goldfields to celebrate this significant occasion.
"WA remains
a globally significant battery and critical minerals processing hub and we are
working hard to do all we can to further capitalise on this incredible
opportunity.
"Lithium
became WA's second most valuable mineral in 2022–23, with sales of $20 billion
and royalties of $930 million.
"This
impressive increase in production has seen WA consolidate its position as the largest
global producer of lithium, a rank we have held since passing Chile in 2012."
