https://www.afr. com/companies/mining/lithium-giant-s-lament-over-labour-shortages-cost-blow-outs-in-wa-20210806-p58gdj
Lithium giant’s lament over labour shortages, cost blowouts in WA
Brad ThompsonReporter
Aug 6, 2021 – 9.55am
Battery chemicals multinational Albemarle Corporation has warned of more delays and cost blowouts on a lithium hydroxide plant under construction in Western Australia as a result of the “extreme” labour marketin the state.
Chief executive Kent Masters told international analysts and investors that WA was “kind of famous for a labour market that gets difficult if you’re doing large projects”.
Albemarle has given no signal when the Wodgina lithium mine in WA would be restarted despite a strong rebound in prices. Supplied
He also warned that government lockdown policies that did not apply in other international jurisdictions would affect anyone undertaking a big project in Australia, and in particular in WA.
Albemarle said it was grappling with both international and intrastate COVID-19-related border restrictions in WA, and had altered its construction plans to reduce risk.
The lithium hydroxide plant is running almost a year behind schedule and will cost Albemarle much more than the original $US1.2 billion ($1.62 billion) price tag.
Mr Masters also gave no signal that the company was about to restart the Wodgina lithium mine in WA despite a
strong rebound in prices.
The New Stock Exchange-listed Albemarle’s share price hit record highs after it announced better-than-expected June quarter earnings overnight, and on the back of US President Joe Biden declaring that electric models should make up 50 per cent of all new car sales by 2030.
“if you’re building in WA, the availability of labour, the tightness is extreme.”
— Kent Masters, Albemarle Corp CEO
Albemarle said it had opted to change plans for the Kemerton lithium hydroxide plant in WA because of the risk posed by skills shortages.
It will focus on completing the first 25,000-tonne-a-year train and delay work on train 2 by three months.
“These delays and higher labour rates have also increased capital cost,” Mr Masters told analysts.
“It’s been a difficult situation and a labour market that was already tight, but we have been able to maintain the schedule for Kemerton I with only a three-month delay for Kemerton II.
“We continue to expect commercial production for both Kemerton I and II during 2022.”
Not only can we not get resources from China or Thailand or even the UK, we can’t get resources from the east part of Australia.
— Kent Masters
Asked if the entire battery metals industry in WA was facing significant delays and in danger of not being able to meet demand from car makers, Mr Masters said: “I can’t speak for other projects, but I mean, if you’re building in WA, the availability of labour, the tightness is extreme.”
Albemarle has been able to complete construction work on its La Negra lithium carbonate project in Chile and is targeting China for its next wave of investment.
“WA is kind of famous for a labour market that gets difficult if you’re doing large projects, just because the resource industry draws all of the resources,” Mr Masters said.
The Albemarle boss said the issue was well known but had come to a head through soaring prices for iron ore and other commodities, and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.
“Today we have COVID, so they lock down not only Australia but state by state,” he said.
“So we can’t move – not only can we not get resources from China or Thailand or even the UK, we can’t get resources from the east part of Australia.
“So we’re kind of stuck with what’s in WA.
So, and I think that will affect anyone doing a big capital project in WA or Australia.
I’m not sure that it applies, say, in China, for example.”
Mr Masters flagged that the Wodgina mine might not restart until Albemarle acquired downstream processing capacity in China.
Wodgina, close to WA’s iron ore epicentre of Port Hedland, has sat idle since November 2019, when it was put into care and maintenance on the same day as Albemarle finalised a deal to hand Chris Ellison-led Mineral Resources $US1.3 billion for a 60 per cent stake.
Under the deal, Mineral Resources ended up with a 40 per cent stake in the mine and in Kemerton stages 1 and 2.
There are reports of what appears to be more activity and workers on-site at Wodgina in recent weeks as resurgent near-neighbour Pilbara Minerals captures remarkable prices for spodumene.
Mr Masters said Albemarle intended to feed Kemerton from the Greenbushes lithium mine. which it owns through a joint venture known as Talison with China’s Tianqi, for the foreseeable future.
Both Albemarle and Tianqi are expected to want to boost production at Greenbushes with Tianqi, and its partner IGO, about to start producing lithium hydroxide from a plant at Kwinana south of Perth.
“Our plans are to feed Kemerton from Talison. And then, as we either bring on other capacity or do an acquisition, we would use Wodgina for that,” Mr Masters said.
“And our strategy about selling spodumene hasn’t changed.”
Wodgina is almost 1800 kilometres from Kemerton, in WA’s south-west, by road.
(20min delay)