IGO, Wyloo secure land for battery materials project

Market: Battery materials
14/04/23

Australian major lithium firm IGO and private-sector Wyloo Metals have secured around 30 hectares of vacant industrial land in Western Australia's (WA's) Kwinana for the development of an integrated battery material facility.

The proposed facility involves integrating a downstream nickel refinery with a high-value nickel-dominant precursor cathode active material (PCAM) manufacturing plant. IGO said it cannot presently share potential volumes as the firms are conducting a project feasibility study, which is expected to be completed by mid-2024. But the firms will be able to provide an outline when the feasibility study is completed, which will be followed by a final financial investment decision.

The plant will be situated in the Kwinana-Rockingham Strategic Industrial area, adjacent to the Kwinana lithium hydroxide refinery operated by Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia (TLEA). TLEA is a joint venture between major Chinese lithium producer Tianqi Lithium with a 51pc stake and IGO with 49pc. The Kwinana lithium hydroxide refinery is now producing at 24,000 t/yr, likely due to be doubled in 2024 when the second phase that requires an expenditure of $190mn comes through.

The IGO-Wyloo project has an estimated capital expenditure of A$600mn-1bn ($407mn-678mn), according to the WA government. It will begin the first commercial production of PCAM in Australia.

"With the potential to be Australia's first commercial producer of PCAM, this integrated battery material facility is a perfect fit for the Kwinana-Rockingham Strategic Industrial area", Australia's minister of state development, jobs and trade, Roger Cook said.

The two firms are also engaging with undisclosed potential project partners, according to IGO. Discussions with an undisclosed global battery chemical manufacturer are in the pipeline, according to the company's ASX announcement on 14 April.

"We strongly believe that by bringing the right partners together, we will deliver a fully optimised nickel supply chain delivering low-cost, low-carbon, responsibly produced battery chemicals for the global battery and electric vehicle industry, to be delivered through an integrated battery material facility here in Western Australia", acting chief executive officer of IGO Matt Dusci said.

WA's minister for mines and petroleum, Bill Johnston said there is increasing international interest in establishing precursor cathode production facilities in WA following his recent trip to the US, Canada, South Korea and Japan.

"Australia is already playing an important role in the global supply of critical minerals required as the world transitions to clean energy," Dusci said. "We need to continue to expand our participation throughout the battery supply chain, beyond just the mining of key raw minerals, in order to capture a greater share of the value. We believe the area where Australia can be most competitive is in mid-stream battery chemical processing."

By Joseph Ho

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30/04/25

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