MELBOURNE, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Australia's Wesfarmers , which jointly owns the Mount Holland lithium project
in Western Australia with Chile's SQM said on
Wednesday production of lithium hydroxide will be delayed by
around six months while costs jumped.
The delay to the chemicals used in the fast growing electric
vehicle battery sector is due to labour shortages, refinery
engineering delays and supply chain kinks in the wake of COVID
shutdowns that have impacted the delivery of key equipment.
That has pushed up overall costs for the project by 10-20
percent. Wesfarmer's share of costs for the project is now seen
at between A$1.2 billion- A$1.3 billion ($838 million-$908
million), up from A$1.09 billion.
"First production of lithium hydroxide at Kwinana is now
expected in the first half of the 2025 calendar year, around six
months later than previous guidance but with the impact of the
delay expected to be partially offset by the early sale of
spodumene concentrate during the 2024 calendar year," it said.
Wesfarmers also said the group was assessing options to
expand capacity of the mine and concentrator.
The Covalent lithium project owns the Mount Holland mine and
concentrator around 500 kilometres (310 miles) east of Perth,
and the Kwinana refinery in Perth, and plans to produce 50,000
tonnes of lithium hydroxide a year once complete.
($1 = 1.4312 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Melanie Burton and Byron Kaye; Editing by Sam
Holmes)
+613 9286 1421; Reuters Messaging:
melanie.burton.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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