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.. For the record;
AFR Posco story picked up yesterday by The West Australian ..

cheers

https://thewest.com.au/business/min...option-for-lithium-hydroxide-plant-c-10725062

Pilbara Minerals partner POSCO lauds South Korea as cheaper option for lithium hydroxide plant

Daniel NewellThe West Australian
Mon, 22 May 2023 7:39AM



The plant at Pilgangoora. Credit: Reid Smith, OKMG/TheWest


South Korean resources giant POSCO has hinted lithium-rich Australia could stand to lose vital downstream battery mineral processing projects to its Asian neighbours who could offer greater cost and labour advantages.

POSCO has partnered with several WA mining companies, including Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting — through which it holds a 12.5 per cent stake in the Roy Hill iron ore mine — and Pilbara Minerals on a lithium hydroxide plant in the South Korean city of Gwangyang.

POSCO has secured a $693 million loan from the South Korean government for construction of the plant, which will process lithium spodume concentrate from Pilbara’s Pilgangoora project near Port Hedland. The mine is now ramping up to a production capacity of one million tonnes a year, with POSCO set to take almost a third of its output for at least 20 years.

The lithium hydroxide plant’s construction offshore marks a departure from other WA lithium producers who have partnered with processing giants to build facilities closer to home, including China’s Tianqi and US major Albemarle’s multibillion-dollar investments at Kwinana and Kemerton near Bunbury.

But a POSCO spokesman told the Australian Financial Review that it was 40 per cent cheaper to build the plant in South Korea.
“When comparing the economic feasibility of the lithium hydroxide business, Korea is superior to Australia,” he said.
“The investment cost per tonne of production in Korea is 40 per cent lower than the Kwinana and Kemerton projects in Western Australia ($US18,000 a tonne in Korea versus $US30,000 a tonne in Australia).
“Construction in Korea is economically superior in terms of infrastructure such as securing manpower and procurement of auxiliary materials.”

A new POSCO business unit specialising in lithium is also investing in related industries near the Gwangyang plant, which is expected to start commissioning this year and begin first production in 2024. Pilbara will hold an 18 per cent interest in the plant.

Albemarle revealed earlier this month that it plans to become the largest lithium producer in Australia with an investment of up to $US1.5 billion ($2.25b) to double the capacity of its Kemerton plant.