Name of the Project
Lithium hydroxide chemicals plant.

Location
Kings Mountain, North Carolina, in the US.

Project Owner/s
Piedmont Lithium.

Project Description
A prefeasibility study (PFS) and a scoping study completed on the project have delivered excellent economics and robust internal rates of return over the project’s 25-year life.

Piedmont’s chemicals plant, or merchant project, will create an alternative to the numerous merchant spodumene converters operating in China, thus providing US and European automotive companies with a secure and independent US source of the lithium hydroxide required for their supply chains. The PFS completed on the merchant project envisages a standalone merchant chemicals plant, which will convert spodumene concentrate acquired on the global market to battery-grade lithium hydroxide, rather than from Piedmont’s own mine/concentrator.

The scoping study covers the integrated project, which comprises a mine/concentrator and chemicals plant. The integrated project will produce spodumene concentrate that will be transported to a chemicals plant and converted into battery-grade lithium hydroxide. Both projects yield average lithium hydroxide production of 22 720 t/y at steady state. In addition, the integrated project will deliver spodu­mene concentrate production of 160 000 t/y at steady state.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The merchant project delivers an after-tax net present value (NPV), at an 8% discount rate, of $714-million and a payback of 3.34 years from the start of operations. The integrated project has an estimated NPV, at an 8% discount rate, of $1.07-billion and a payback of 3.23 years. Both projects yield an internal rate of return of 26%.

Capital Expenditure
The initial capital cost for the merchant project, including contingency, is estimated at $377-million, while that of the mine/concentrator project, including contingency, is estimated at $168-million.

Planned Start/End Date
First lithium production is forecast in 2023.

The ramp-up period for chemicals plant operations is forecast to achieve nameplate capacity, including overall production and battery-quality production, after a 24-month ramp-up period.

Latest Developments
Piedmont Lithium has launched a definitive feasibility study (DFS) for its lithium hydroxide chemicals project.

The DFS will incorporate work under way at Piedmont’s concentrate operations, with Metso Outotec joining Piedmont’s technical team.

Using Metso Outotech’s technology, which omits the acid roasting step of conventional spodumene conversion, air emissions from the chemical operations are expected to be reduced, compared with those in prior studies, Piedmont has said.

The DFS will also evaluate enhancements to the Carolina operations, including the installation of solar generating capacity, in-pit crushing systems and the elimination of haul trucks from the operations plan.

As the DFS progresses, the company will continue with its discussions with prospective customers and strategic investors to optimally position the North Carolina operations for development later in 2021.

The study will likely be completed by the end of the third quarter of 2021.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Primero Group (preferred engineering, procurement and construction, as well as operations contractor for the spodumene concentrator).

PFS consultants: Hatch (chemicals plant engi­neering, initial capital cost and operating cost estimates); SGS Lakefield (metallurgical testwork); HDR Engineering (permitting, environmental and social studies); Benchmark Mineral Intelligence; and Roskill (lithium market research).

Contact Details for Project Information
Piedmont Lithium investor and government relations, Tim McKenna, tel +1732331 6457 or email tmckenna@piedmontlithium.com.