An $800 million expansion of Talison Lithium's Greenbushes site will go ahead after Talison and Global Advanced Metals resolved a legal dispute over the plans.
Leaders interviewed for the annual Business News CEO survey suggest that forward-looking decisions on energy policy and tax will be vital for WA's future prosperity.
Albemarle Corporation has revised the construction schedule for its $1 billion lithium plant at Kemerton, with site works due to start next month and the US company accelerating expansion of the project.
Talison Lithium and Global Advanced Metals have reached an in-principle settlement deal in their legal dispute over expansion plans for the Greenbushes mine.
In a wide-ranging interview, Mark Pownall explores the career of Tianqi Lithium general manager Phil Thick and discusses the state of the battery metals industry.
Henderson-based Civmec will start a maintenance services contract with iron ore miner Roy Hill Holdings next month, building on work it is undertaking for major players Rio Tinto, Alcoa of Australia and Fortescue Metals Group.
Nearly 140 major projects are either under way or planned for WA, new research by Business News has found. Click through to access the new list on the BNiQ Search Engine.
Talison Lithium has confirmed it will build a third concentrator at the Greenbushes lithium mine to boost output to 1.95 million tonnes per annum, but the owner of tantalum rights at the project has again warned the expansion will be subject to an ongoing legal battle.
Lithium advocates have been cautioned to separate facts from hype as it is not yet clear if battery manufacturing in Western Australia will be practical, although refining plans should proceed immediately, according to Mckinsey & Co partner Prabhav Sharma.
A bid to launch a battery focused cooperative research centre in Perth has so far received more than $26 million in commitments from supporters, and will build on existing research programs at institutions such as Murdoch University.
Work is continuing on the stage one expansion at Greenbushes lithium mine, according to Talison Lithium, despite the business hitting a legal speed bump in a dispute with Global Advanced Metals.
Moves to encourage downstream lithium processing in Western Australia continued today, with the state government announcing a taskforce to develop a strategy for the sector.
A plan to redouble capacity at Talison Lithium's Greenbushes mine was lodged with the federal government's environmental regulator last week, while US-based Albemarle Corporation has updated its timeframe for a Kemerton refinery.
Kwinana has been selected as the site for what is likely to be the fourth lithium refinery in Western Australia, with investment in the boom sector estimated to exceed $4 billion in the next few years.
Applecross-based Mineral Resources is looking to sell a 49 per cent stake in its Wodgina lithium project, as work to investigate the feasibility of a lithium hydroxide or carbonate processing plant at the site continues.
Kerman Contracting has won a $20 million contract for works associated with the upgrade of the crushing circuit at Talison Lithium's Greenbushes operation in the South West.
SPECIAL REPORT: An eclectic mix of corporate heavyweights, private philanthropists and innovative disruptors have helped to shape the state's arts sector.
Talison Lithium has engaged MSP Engineering to conduct a feasibility study into another expansion at its Greenbushes project while a $320 million upgrade, set to double production, is already under way.
Global Advanced Metals has submitted a development plan to begin direct tantalum mining at Greenbushes in Western Australia's South West, as it continues legal proceedings against the company that mines lithium at the same site.
The global lithium supply chain will be worth more than $1 trillion in 10 years' time, if an analysis written for the Association of Mining & Exploration Companies pans out, with Western Australia well placed to grab a share.
Local contractor EC&M has announced it has been awarded a series of contracts with a combined value of approximately $130 million, including a joint venture project in New South Wales with West Perth-based CPC Engineering.
Local contractor EC&M has been awarded the electrical, instrumentation and controls construction contract for Chinese company Tianqi Lithium's $400 million processing facility in Kwinana.
Chinese company Tianqi Lithium has approved the second stage of its processing plant in Kwinana, a $300 million investment to double production capacity to 48,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide per annum.
Tianqi Lithium has taken further steps to strengthen its cultural ties to Western Australia with the announcement of a $5 million partnership with the Foundation for the WA Museum.
SPECIAL REPORT: Ten lithium projects under construction or in advanced planning to bring new lithium supply onto the market will dramatically boost exports of the commodity in coming years.
Chinese company Tianqi Lithium and its head contractor MSP Engineering are on track to achieve 80 per cent Western Australian content on two big construction projects worth more than $700 million.
Kidman Resources has finalised a $110 million joint venture agreement with Chilean company SQM for the Mt Holland lithium project, while Altura Mining has begun extracting ore at its Pilgangoora lithium project.
Global demand for lithium is expected to increase by three to four times by 2025 and projected supplies will not keep up, Tianqi Lithium Australia general manager Phil Thick told a Mining Club lunch today.
Three contractors have won work for Altura Mining's planned $140 million Pilgangoora lithium mine, as the company continues work to secure debt financing for the project.
SPECIAL REPORT: The value of investment into WA gold projects is about four times as much as this time last year, while growth in spending on lithium has been even more substantial.
Georgiou Group will build Tianqi Lithium's new Australian headquarters, under a deal worth $17 million with the Chinese lithium miner's head contractor, for its $400 million processing plant in Kwi
A string quartet from the West Australian Symphony Orchestra will exchange its Perth Concert Hall home for a natural stage in the Kalamina Gorge next week for the 2017 Karijini Experience.
