China's Ganfeng Lithium to upgrade production at Mt Marion in Australia

A worker operates on a production line at a lithium battery factory in Tangshan, north China's Hebei Province, Nov. 29, 2020. (Xinhua/Yang Shiyao)

Ganfeng Lithium Group, a Chinese company engaging in the lithium battery supply chain, said in an announcement on Tuesday that it had agreed with its joint venture partner Process Minerals International Pty Ltd (PMI) to upgrade production capacity at Mt Marion to boost spodumene output.

According to Ganfeng Lithium, the two parts will upgrade production at Mt Marion, located in Western Australia, to 600,000 tonnes per year from about 450,000 tonnes.

Meanwhile, it is said that the joint venture, Reed Industrial Minerals Pty Ltd (RIM), is planning capacity expansion in the second stage, aiming at raising the installed capacity to 900,000 tonnes per year.

Mt Marion is one of the largest spodumene producers around the globe and a major lithium source of Ganfeng Lithium.

Gangfeng and PMI had bought out the stake of RIM, both taking 50 percent of the joint venture's ownership.

Ganfeng Lithium is one of the largest lithium metal producers in the world. Having signed supply deals with Tesla in 2018 and Volkswagen in 2019, the company's products are widely used in electric vehicles, energy storage, 3C products, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

It is said that PMI, a listed company in Australia, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mineral Resources Limited, focusing on mining and mineral products processing.