FLSmidth wins lithium engineering contracts

Having been involved in lithium extraction for 25 years, recent developments have led to some exciting projects for FLSmidth, including two new engineering agreements.

In the U.S., FLSmidth was chosen to provide product engineering for the first phase of Ioneer’s Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron project in Nevada. Ioneer expects to mine and process 63.8 million tonnes over the 26-year mine life, at an average annual rate of 2.5 million tonnes per year.

“FLSmidth’s MissionZero strategy is focused on environmentally sound mining engineering and technology solutions,” said Ioneer managing director Bernard Rowe. “This aligns with Ioneer’s ambition to not only produce materials necessary for electric vehicles and renewable energy, but to extract them in an efficient and environmentally responsible manner through lowered emissions, significantly reduced water usage and a small surface footprint.”

Keliber, a Finnish company focused on producing sustainable, battery-grade lithium hydroxide for the battery industry, recently appointed FLSmidth to provide process engineering services at its Päiväneva concentrator. Keliber and FLSmidth agreed on the provision of process, layout and mechanical engineering services for the mill.

“We have chosen a partner with considerable experience in the mining industry, including lithium production,” said Keliber CEO Hannu Hautala. “Our goal is to build a world-class plant that utilizes the best available technology, which means safe, environmentally friendly and cost-optimized production.”

Lithium is playing a major role in efforts to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions from energy generation, and therefore supports the aims of FLSmidth MissionZero sustainability ambitions.

Find out more about MissionZero at www.FLSmidth.com.