Federal money to boost proposed lithium mine
A plan to reopen a lithium mine in Kings Mountain got a big boost from the federal government this week.
A nearly $150 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy will go to the Albemarle Corporation to expand domestic manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles and the electrical grid and for materials and components currently imported from other countries, according to a statement from the company with operations in Kings Mountain.
The grant funding is intended to support a portion of the anticipated cost to construct a new, commercial-scale lithium concentrator facility at the Albemarle Corporation’s Kings Mountain location.
“Albemarle is proud to partner with the federal government to bring manufacturing jobs to the southeastern United States, strengthening the domestic supply chain for the growing electric vehicle market. Receiving the DOE grant affirms Albemarle’s position as a global market leader and one of the only lithium companies currently producing battery-grade lithium from U.S. resources,” said Albemarle CEO Kent Masters.
Here are the highlights of how the money will be used:
Albemarle is finalizing the site selection for the facility which would mine and convert spodumene into lithium from the proposed reopening of the company’s hard rock mine on approximately 800 acres of land in Kings Mountain.
Money will also be put toward Albemarle’s existing lithium brine resources in Silver Peak, Nevada, as well as potentially recycling lithium materials from existing batteries.
Albemarle will use a portion of the grant to support a $5 million mineral processing operator training program at Cleveland Community College, a $1.5 million minerals lab research program at Virginia Tech, and a $1.5 million minerals pilot plant and engineering training program at North Carolina State University’s Asheville Minerals Research Lab.
The facility is expected to eventually produce up to 100,000 metric tons of battery-grade lithium per year to support domestic manufacturing of up to 1.6 million EVs per year.
Albemarle has lithium mining operations in Chile and Australia, but if they successfully tap into the resource in Kings Mountain, it will have a significance.
According to Albemarle, if this project moves forward, it will be the first hard rock lithium mine in the United States. That means that unlike many mines which use a brine and evaporation technique, spodumene, which is high in lithium, is extracted directly from the rock by crushing and grinding it.
Albemarle plans for the concentrator facility to create hundreds of construction and full-time jobs, and to supply up to 350,000 metric tons per year of spodumene concentrate to the company's previously announced mega-flex lithium conversion facility.
Diane Turbyfill can be reached at dturbyfill@shelbystar.com.
This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: Federal money to boost proposed Kings Mountain lithium mine
