Albemarle’s new lithium hydroxide production plant is expected to be located in the Kemerton Strategic Industrial Area, approximately 160km south of Perth, near the port town of Bunbury.
Initially, the plant comprises of three production trains, each with a production capacity of 20,000tons per annum (tpa) of lithium hydroxide, with a potential further expansion to five trains which makes the site production to reach 100,000tpa by 2025.
Under the contract, Civmec’s scope of work includes structural, mechanical and piping for the hydromet and final product, reagents and utilities for trains 1, 2 and 3. The Henderson facility is to be used for fabrication and pre-assembly of selected components for the on-site plant erection.
Fabrication is expected to be started immediately and the site works are expected from mid-2019 to March 2021.
During the peak of the construction phase, approximately 300 personnel are expected to be involved in the delivery of the current defined scope, and provide significant opportunity for skilled people residing in the region.
Civmec CEO Patrick Tallon said: “We are delighted to have been selected by Albemarle as a significant construction partner for this exciting project. This two-year project is ideally suited to our operations, fabricating, modularising and site erecting steel work for this key Western Australian development.
“This project reflects the growing confidence in the WA resource industry, highlighting a bright future for the coming years.”
In January, Albemarle announced the start of earthworks at the Kemerton Strategic Industrial Area, in Western Australia, for the construction of the company’s Kemerton lithium hydroxide conversion site.
The Kemerton plant is expected to have an initial capacity of 60,000 metric tons of lithium hydroxide with an ability to expand to 100,000 metric tons over time.
The commissioning of the Kemerton site is expected to begin in stages during the course of 2021.
Albemarle has obtained the required environmental approval from the Australian federal and state government for the Kemerton plant.
