Mining Magazine August 2017 | Page 27

LITHIUM PRODUCERS

01 ALBEMARLE

This global outfit is based out of Charlotte , North Carolina , and emerged as the world ’ s top lithium superpower after its acquisition of Rockwood Holdings and Rockwood Lithium in 2015 . In January , the corporation concluded at deal with the government of Chile ’ s Development Agency that allows it to increase lithium mining at the Salar de Atacama operation in the Antofagasta region and has touted an investment uptick of $ 400- $ 600m . The move is expected to increase battery-grade lithium carbonate output from 24,000 to 80,000 tonnes . Albemarle has also been aggressive in augmenting other global lithium operations .
With a 40 % stake in Australia ’ s Greenbushes mine , Albemarle has pushed for significant upgrades to the facility and expects to double production to 1.34m tonnes of lithium concentrate by 2019 . Considered the world leader in lithium mining , Albemarle shows no sign of falling behind the pack .
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