TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Talison Lithium, which mines the battery making ingredient in Western Australia, boosted sales by 74% year-on-year in the March quarter as production rose along with prices.

Output at the TSX-listed company’s Greenbushes mine hit another new record of 88 315 t, which was one-third more than the same quarter in 2010, Talison said on Tuesday.

The company completed its phase-one expansion at the operation in December, lifting its yearly production rate to around 315 000 t of lithium concentrate.

Earlier this year, Talison pushed the button on the second-phase expansion, which will more than double production to 740 000 t/y at a cost of around A$70-million. It expects to complete this project in the first half of 2012.

The company, which listed in Toronto in September, predicts that lithium demand will double by 2016 from 2010 levels as consumers buy more electronic goods such as cell phones and iPads, while demand for electric cars, bikes, buses and taxis starts to accelerate from 2015.

China is now the biggest lithium buyer, accounting for around one-third of global demand.
 

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