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Albemarle plans to double lithium production in Nevada

Vladimir Basov

Kitco News

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(Kitco News) - Albemarle (NYSE: ALB), a leader in the global specialty chemicals industry, announced today that it will expand capacity at the company's lithium production facility in Silver Peak, Nevada.

In addition, the company plans to begin a program to evaluate clays and other available Nevada resources for commercial production of lithium.

Albemarle said that beginning in 2021, the company plans to invest $30 million to $50 million to double the current production at the Nevada site by 2025, making full use of its brine water rights.

Additionally, in 2021 the company plans to commence exploration of clay and evaluate technology that could accelerate the viability of lithium production from clay resources in the region.

"As a leader in the lithium industry, our priority is to optimize our world-class resources and production. This includes Silver Peak, a site uniquely positioned as the only lithium-producing resource in the United States," said Eric Norris, Albemarle President, Lithium. "This investment in domestic capacity shows that we are committed to looking at the many ways in which Silver Peak can provide domestic support for the growing EV market."

Albemarle's domestic resources also include the historic 800-acre Kings Mountain, N.C., lithium site, which is one of the richest spodumene ore deposits in the world and home to the company's global lithium technical center and piloting operations, as well as lithium-containing brines in Arkansas.

By Vladimir Basov

For Kitco News

Contact vbasov@kitco.com
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