Australian retail and industrials conglomerate Wesfarmers has confirmed it will proceed with a US$1.8 billion joint venture (JV) investment in the Mt Holland lithium project in Western Australia. Wesfarmers has committed to developing the mine and its associated Kwinana refinery in partnership with Chilean chemical giant...
Chilean lithium miner SQM has received environmental approval for the expansion of its lithium carbonate production plant, which will allow the company to boost its output of the valuable battery metal. Once completed, the US$400 million plant expansion will give Chinese-backed SQM the capacity to produce...
Chile Constitutional Court has rejected a lawsuit to block Chinese miner Tianqi Lithium’s acquisition of a US$4.1 billion stake in SQM, after the two global lithium heavyweights clashed over the deal. A suspension of the sale was lifted after a majority ruling found that the lawsuit...
Chile’s state copper commission Cochilco has revealed it expects the national mining industry to attract a total of US$65.75 billion in investment over the next 10 years. The projected investment sum will encompass 44 operations, with Cochilco referencing two new lithium mining projects, three copper and...
Chinese firm Gangfeng Lithium has purchased a 50% stake in the Cauchari-Olaroz project from Chilean lithium giant SQM in a deal worth US$87.5 million. The deal gives Gangfeng a 37.5% ownership in the brine project, located in Argentina’s Jujuy Province, with the remaining stake held by...
Australia is officially the largest producer of lithium in the world after overtaking Chile’s total output in 2017, according to data from United States Geological Survey (USGS). Australia produced 18,700 tonnes of lithium last year, most of which was sourced within the nation’s hard rock lithium...
Tesla has entered a three-year lithium supply deal with Australian miner Kidman Resources, who will provide refined lithium hydroxide to the electric vehicle manufacturer under the agreement. In a statement, Kidman said that the deal is structured on a fixed-price take-or-pay basis, meaning that Tesla will...
The government of Chile has appealed to antitrust regulators regarding an attempt by a Chinese firm to purchase a US$4 billion equity stake in the major Chilean lithium producer SQM. Chile development agency Corfo, which manages SQM’s lithium leases in the Salar de Atacama, filed a...