Published: May 28, 2020 |

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Piedmont Lithium Limited as released results of the company’s pre-feasibility study (PFS) for its proposed lithium hydroxide chemical plant in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. The PFS assumes a stand-alone merchant Chemical Plant that would convert spodumene concentrate purchased on the global market to battery-grade lithium hydroxide.

Piedmont has updated the scoping study for its integrated mine-to-hydroxide project to reflect the updated Chemical Plant PFS. Both studies confirm that Piedmont will be a strategic and low-cost producer of battery-grade lithium hydroxide. Piedmont benefits from access to the exceptional infrastructure, low operating costs and low corporate taxes enjoyed by American industrial companies.

Piedmont’s Chemical Plant would create an alternative to the numerous merchant spodumene converters currently operating in China and dominating the world lithium hydroxide market, thus providing U.S. and European automotive companies a secure and independent American source of the lithium hydroxide required for their supply chains.

“The Chemical Plant PFS demonstrates the economic benefit of developing a lithium chemical business in North Carolina, USA, with its exceptional infrastructure, low operating costs and competitive tax regime,” said Keith D. Phillips, president and chief executive officer.

“80 percent of the world’s lithium hydroxide is produced in China, largely by non-integrated ‘merchant’ producers sourcing spodumene concentrate from Western Australia. As global automotive companies electrify their fleets, we expect them to increasingly seek ex-China sources of lithium supply, and North Carolina is ideally-positioned to benefit given its proximity to major auto markets in the US and Europe, and the deep lithium talent pool resident in the region,” added Phillips.

Piedmont will now advance the Chemical Plant through the permitting and definitive feasibility processes, providing us the option to move aggressively on either a merchant or integrated basis toward first lithium production in 2023 as the transition to electric vehicles begins to seriously take hold,” concluded Phillips.

About Piedmont Lithium
Piedmont Lithium Limited holds a 100 percent interest in the Piedmont Lithium Project located within the world-class Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt (TSB) and along trend to the Hallman Beam and Kings Mountain mines, historically providing most of the western world’s lithium between 1950 and 1990. The TSB has been described as one of the largest lithium provinces in the world and is located approximately 40 kilometres west of Charlotte, North Carolina. It is a premier location to be developing and integrated lithium business based on its favorable geology, proven metallurgy and easy access to infrastructure, power, R&D centres for lithium and battery storage, major high-tech population centres and downstream lithium processing facilities.

The project was originally explored by Lithium Corporation of America which eventually was acquired by FMC Corporation. FMC and Albemarle Corporation both historically mined the lithium bearing spodumene pegmatites within the TSB and developed and operated the two lithium processing facilities in the region which were the first modern spodumene processing facilities in the western world.

The company is in a unique position to leverage its position as a first mover in restarting exploration in this historic lithium producing region with the aim of developing a strategic, U.S. domestic source of lithium to supply the increasing electric vehicle and battery storage markets.

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