Kerman wins Kemerton lithium contract

Kerman Contracting has been awarded a contract for the design and construction of multiple warehouses and buildings at Albemarle Corporation’s lithium hydroxide production plant in Kemerton.

Design has commenced, with construction due to start onsite in the first quarter of 2020.

The works comprise two separable portions, with one encompassing the design and construction of the 'pyromet' buildings, such as the spodumene storage building, the acidified ore handling building and the tailings building.

The other portion comprises of the sodium sulphate packaging and storage warehouse, sodium sulphate pallet storage building, the lithium hydroxide packaging and storage warehouse, the lithium hydroxide pallet storage building, and the boiler and air compressor buildings.

The numerical value of the contract or employment numbers was not disclosed.

“We are excited about being part of yet another project in the Lithium market,” Kerman managing director Chris Kerman said.

He said the company was excited about being part of another project in the lithium market.

Ardross-based Kerman recently completed contracts at Talison Lithium’s chemical grade plant in Greenbushes and the Tianqi Lithium hydroxide processing plant in Kwinana.

The Kemerton lithium hydroxide plant at full-scale has a total estimated cost of $1.5 billion, however, the scale of the plant has been reduced due to a supply and demand imbalance in the lithium market.

Albemarle had originally planned to scale-up Kemerton to 100,000 tonnes per annum but its latest plan, announced in August, will cap production at 50,000 tonnes for the foreseeable future.