Piedmont Lithium sets sights overseas, but Gaston mine still planned

Kara Fohner, The Gaston Gazette
·2 min read
Piedmont Lithium recently submitted an application to the North Carolina mining approval program. Here, Piedmont outlines a proposed site for mining and production in northwest Gaston County.
Piedmont Lithium recently submitted an application to the North Carolina mining approval program. Here, Piedmont outlines a proposed site for mining and production in northwest Gaston County.

Piedmont Lithium says they are still aimed at establishing a lithium mine in Gaston County, despite news that the company is moving forward with investments in Quebec and Ghana.

The pivot, according to Reuters, came as a North Carolina regulatory review delayed the company's plans to establish a mine in Gaston County.

Piedmont Lithium had said in a February interview that they would turn to partnerships with companies in Canada and Ghana that produce spodumene concentrate if Gaston County tells the company no. Now, they appear to be turning to those companies anyway.

In a statement, Piedmont Lithium President and CEO Keith Phillips said that the company's goal is to be the leading American producer of lithium hydroxide, and Carolina Lithium Project is their "flagship project."

Still, he said, establishing a mine in Gaston County is a long process, and in the meantime, Piedmont Lithium is moving forward with investments in Quebec and Ghana, as well as a U.S.-based lithium hydroxide processing facility.

"These are strategically timed projects that will allow us to provide the U.S. electrification market with much needed lithium products in the near term, while generating revenue for Piedmont Lithium," Phillips said.

Production in Quebec is expected to start in the first half of 2023 and in Ghana in 2024.The U.S. processing plant is expected to be operational in 2025.

But Piedmont Lithium hasn't given up on Gaston County.

Piedmont signed a deal in 2020 to begin supplying Tesla Inc with lithium between July 2022 and July 2023 from the Gaston County mine, but that timeline has been extended, Reuters reported.

The company's goal is now to be fully permitted and rezoned in 2023, with construction underway in 2024 and production beginning in late 2025 or 2026, Philips said.

To Rich and LeAnne Pembleton, the company turning their sights abroad is good news. The mine, if established in Gaston County, would be about a mile northwest of the Pembletons' property, which sits in Gaston County near the Gaston-Lincoln county line.

Rich and LeAnne Pembleton are concerned that a lithium mine that could be placed about a mile northwest of their property might destroy the quality of their well water.
Rich and LeAnne Pembleton are concerned that a lithium mine that could be placed about a mile northwest of their property might destroy the quality of their well water.

The couple is dependent on well water, and whether or not the mine would affect the quality of their water is their chief concern.

"Water is what gives life," LeAnne Pembleton said. "If we lose that, we lose a lot."

The property the Pembletons owns is their "dream come true," Rich Pembleton said.

They moved to North Carolina from Atlanta around seven years ago in order to return to a more "rural lifestyle." They have bees, donkeys, chickens, and a goldfish pond that their golden retriever, Ginger, likes to play in.

The lithium mine Piedmont Lithium hopes to establish in Gaston County would be about a mile northwest of Rich and LeAnne Pembleton's property.
The lithium mine Piedmont Lithium hopes to establish in Gaston County would be about a mile northwest of Rich and LeAnne Pembleton's property.

"If you lose water, you lose it all," Rich Pembleton said.

Reporter Kara Fohner can be reached at 704-869-1850 or at kfohner@gannett.com. Support local journalism by subscribing here.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Piedmont Lithium sets sights overseas , but Gaston mine still planned