The UK has been one of the countries that neither mines nor processes lithium, yet uses a lot of it. However, this is all about to change, not least as a new plant on Teesside has secured a deal with a major customer from Canada.

Contract processing has been dominated by China, with widespread fears that this could lead to that country having effective control of one of the world’s most valuable minerals. China has also invested heavily in lithium mining around the world.

The emergence of various lithium finds around the world, including the UK, has diminished the prospect of China owning most of the mines, but the refining capacity remains an issue.

However, the UK has two projects on track to build lithium refining plants in the Tees Valley, using the status of the Tees Freeport and its easy access to the sea to serve as hubs for the refining sector.

The refineries in question are being developed by Tees Valley Lithium (TVL) and Green Lithium, and it is the former that has just signed a major new deal with Canadian firm E3 Lithium.

 

What Is The Deal Between Tees Valley Lithium And E3 Lithium?

Under the terms of the arrangement:

  • The long-term tolling partnership would be for at least 50,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide
  • The partnership is set to last for at least ten years
  • The material will come from E3’s Clearwater project in Alberta
  • At full capacity, refining output under this deal will support the production of 550,000 electric vehicles a year.
  • The deal is in line with the critical minerals partnership signed by the UK and Canada in 2023.

Chief commercial officer of TVL, Gemma Cooper, said: “The Heads of Terms with E3 Lithium is the latest step in TVL’s strategy to build resilient battery materials supply chains, served by our independent refining capacity at Teesside.”

Previous major deals signed by TVL include a binding offtake agreement signed with Glencore in January,

The refinery is presently in the pre-construction phase following the signing of a deal with Wates Group in February to prepare the seven-hectare site at Billingham.

 

Will TVL Refine Any Locally-Produced Lithium?

TVL’s deal with E3 highlights the international role the plant will play in turning raw materials into material ready to be turned into batteries. However, it is also set to refine lithium produced from a far more local source.

Weardale Lithium, based in County Durham, signed a memorandum of understanding with TVL in 2022 to process the lithium it hoped to produce from the brines found under the granite of upper Weardale.

Since then, Weardale Lithium has managed to produce the first lithium from the geothermal brines, has secured grant funding and has planning permission in place to build what it has called the largest lithium extraction facility in Britain, located at Eastgate.

Once up and running, this plant is expected to produce 10,000 tonnes of lithium a year.

 

Where Is Britain’s Lithium Mining Based?

This facility will join others involved in Britain’s nascent lithium-mining industry:

  • Northern Lithium is also exploring the north-east of England and announced a partnership earlier this year with Kurita and Evove to commence commercial lithium production from next year, with ambitions to produce 20,000 tonnes a year by 2035.
  • Cornish Lithium is seeking to extract the material from two sites, involving geothermal brines at a site near Redruth and a hard rock mining project in an old China clay pit at Trelavour near St Austell.
  • Imerys British Lithium also has a project in Cornwall with the potential to produce 21,000 tonnes of lithium a year, although the project is currently suspended with the site placed in care and maintenance since February.

The emerging lithium mining and extraction sector in Britain will be an obvious customer for UK-based refineries, not least when they are based in the north-east, minimising the carbon footprint involved in the journey from the ground to car batteries.

Green Lithium is progressing with its own plans to establish a refinery in the Tees Valley, which will take lithium mined from hard rock and process it into 50,000 tonnes of battery-grade material a year. It hopes to have its plant established before anyone else.

Last year, the government made it a priority to fast-track the development of processing plants, as well as stockpiling rare earth materials, to help safeguard the supplies the country needs for the years ahead.

With two plants on the way and more likely to follow, plus several mining and extraction companies working on establishing a supply of the material, the UK could soon be in a far more secure position for lithium supplies than it has ever been in before.