Green light for Covalent solar plan

The state’s peak environmental body has signed off on the addition of a solar farm to help power Wesfarmers’ $1.9 billion Mount Holland lithium mine plan.

The Covalent Lithium project, owned by Wesfarmers and Chilean business SQM, comprises an open-pit mine, an airstrip, accommodation and supporting infrastructure.

The plan also involves the construction of a processing plant in Kwinana, which would have a capacity of 50,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide per year.

The mine is earmarked for the former Mt Holland mine site, a historic gold operation which spans 2,347-hectares about 100 kilometres south of Southern Cross.

The Environmental Protection Authority had already given the miner the green light to clear 386 hectares of vegetation to make way for the mine back in 2019.

But Covalent returned with fresh changes, lodging a request to clear a further 56 hectares to build a solar plant and widen the airstrip.

It also detailed changes to its tailings waste disposal process and asked to modify the existing fauna exclusion areas.

In an 80-page report released this morning, EPA chair Matthew Tonts said the proposal could be approved, subject to a suite of conditions, including a management plan for flora and fauna, offsets and a rehabilitation regime.

In approving the proposal, Professor Tonts noted the role of lithium as a critical mineral for future renewable power generation and said the authority was confident the plan could proceed with environmental protection and restoration during and after mining.

Covalent has indicated it plans to begin construction of the mine and refinery early next year, with production to start in 2024.

The approval comes at a pivotal time for the battery mineral, with sales volumes of spodumene concentrate in Western Australia more than doubling over the past year.

The demand for lithium is expected to be driven primarily by demand for electrical cars, which have rechargeable batteries that rely on the material.