The state of Western Australia will allocate land to a battery metal processing facility designed by IGO Ltd and Wyloo Metals, which is backed by billionaire Andrew Forrest, as the country pushes for domestic processing of more important minerals.
Australia, which supplies almost half of the world’s lithium and is a major producer of rare earths, wants to move up the critical mineral value chain to reduce global dependence on China, which dominates the sector.
The proposed facility in Western Australia, the country’s largest mining state, would be the first in Australia to produce the nickel-cobalt-manganese precursor active cathode material used to make components for lithium-ion batteries common in electric vehicles.
The State Government announced on Friday it would allocate 30 hectares (74 acres) of land within the Kwinana-Rockingham Strategic Industrial Area for the proposed plant, which is expected to cost up to A$1 billion ($678 million). An accompanying statement did not specify the terms of the deal.
IGO acting CEO Matt Dusci said the land deal was a “critical step” for better integration into the battery supply chain. “We believe the area where Australia can be most competitive is in midstream battery chemistry,” Dusci said in a statement.
The final investment decision for the project is subject to a feasibility study to be carried out in mid-2024 and finding a project partner with experience in battery chemistry.
The global battery chemicals maker has shown “strong interest” in the project, according to an IGO statement. Western Australia, which holds most of the country’s critical mineral reserves, is at the forefront of efforts to build processing capacity.
The proposed site will be located next to the Kwinana lithium hydroxide plant jointly owned by IGO and China’s Tianqi Lithium Corp, which last year produced the country’s first battery-grade lithium hydroxide, a critical input for electric vehicle batteries.
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