PERTH (miningweekly.com) – US speciality metals major Albemarle on Monday confirmed an ongoing investment focus into Western Australia’s critical minerals sector, saying the US Inflation Reduction Act would support the region’s critical mineral aspirations.

Albemarle chairperson, president and CEO Kent Masters is currently visiting Western Australia to view progress on major investments, including the $1-billion Kemerton lithium hydroxide plant, and the Greenbushes Wodgina lithium mines.

“Globally, the demand for battery grade lithium remains very high to support energy storage. As electric vehicle manufacturers seek to increase production exponentially in China, Europe and the US, we believe it will be Australian lithium enabling that growth,” Masters said.

He noted that the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act in the US  is expected to benefit mining and processing of critical minerals in Australia, and especially Western Australia, because of incentives for US manufacturers to specifically source materials from trusted partners with Free Trade Agreement (FTA) status.

“I think Australia is particularly well positioned as many countries look to secure supply with existing key trading partners,” he said.

“It should have an absolute advantage if it can move quickly to capitalize on the opportunity.”

Masters said Albemarle’s investment focus in Western Australia was on raw material supply and producing the materials critical to securing the worldwide battery supply chain, and confirmed ongoing work to firm up plans for expansion of the Kemerton plant with the addition of two lithium processing trains, expected to double capacity to 100 000 t/y of lithium hydroxide.

Construction of Kemerton and the first two processing trains was completed this year with a first production milestone marked in July. The facility is currently in the commissioning phase with product undergoing the qualification process. Albemarle, with Mineral Resources, under the MARBL lithium joint venture, owns and operates Kemerton, which processes high-quality spodumene from the Talison Greenbushes mine.