Wodgina partners to restart operations
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Joint venture (JV) partners Mineral Resources (MRL) and Albemarle Corporation have taken a decision to restart the Wodgina lithium mine, in the Pilbara.
Wodgina, which was placed on care and maintenance late in 2019 owing to low lithium prices, is expected to start concentrate production by the third quarter of 2022.
The project has installed processing capacity of 750 000 t/y of spodumene concentrate, and the mine is serviced by its own 64 MW gas-fired power plant, a 700-bed accommodation village and an airfield capable of landing A320 aircraft.
The MARBL JV will initially focus on restarting one of Wodgina’s three 250 000 t/y processing lines, and when market demand is sufficient, additional processing lines may be recommenced. The start-up and initial operating phase at Wodgina is expected to create 200 new full-time jobs.
“We are delighted that the MARBL JV has decided to restart Wodgina, a world-class lithium opportunity that MRL developed into a mine with world-class potential,” said MRL MD Chris Ellison.
“It was the correct decision in late 2019 to place Wodgina on care and maintenance though it never dented our confidence in lithium’s long-term positive demand fundamentals. As we said at the time and repeat today, in Albemarle we have the best partner to deliver maximum and sustainable value from world-class assets like Wodgina.
“Lithium is one of MRL’s two core commodities, alongside iron-ore, and we have worked very hard over the past five years to establish long life operations for both. Wodgina, along with our 50%-owned Mt Marion lithium project in Western Australia’s Goldfields and the soon-to-be-completed 40%-owned Kemerton hydroxide facility, give MRL a world-class portfolio of highest-quality, long-life lithium assets in a tier 1 mining jurisdiction.”
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation