Partnership to accelerate development of UK’s largest lithium deposit

A joint venture between Imerys and British Lithium aims to create the UK’s first integrated producer of battery-grade lithium carbonate.

Imerys’ expertise in mining infrastructure in Cornwall, R&D and process development capabilities, as well as its lithium mineral resources, will be combined with British Lithium’s bespoke technology, technical team and lithium pilot plant, which recently produced battery-grade lithium carbonate. They will have 80% and 20% shares in the venture, respectively.

Following drilling and resource definition, Imerys’ inferred mineral resources are estimated at 161Mt at a grade of 0.54 % lithium oxide. These resources give sufficient confidence to target a life of mine exceeding 30 years at a production rate of 20,000t of lithium carbonate equivalent per year. The drilling programme and pre-feasibility study are in progress.

The proposed development will include a quarry, a beneficiation plant and a conversion unit co-located on Imerys' brownfield site to produce high-purity lithium.

With this venture, Cornwall will become the leading lithium hub in the UK, with target annual production of 20,000t of lithium carbonate equivalent.

The transaction has been approved by the UK Government, under the National Security Investment Act protocol.