Article regarding a delay in stage 2 of Albermarle's Kemerton...

Article regarding a delay in stage 2 of Albermarle's Kemerton lithium processing plant until early 2022.

Happy with Liontowns steps in the recent raise which will go towards securing the long lead items, but given construction is intended (as per most recent presentations) to run over the entirety of 2023 it is something to be monitored and aware of. There is a large labour shortage which won't just go away with a quick switch, especially when the timeframe for reopening international borders remains an unknown, and an increasing amount of skilled East Coast workers pass on the FIFO work as an increase in local projects closer to home at now attractive rates are more desirable to them. Even the money bags of iron ore players BHP, RIO and FMG are not immune to the effects of it on their ongoing new builds/expansions. At the end of the day the work will get done, I just hope they put in potential contingencies/buffers for delays caused by this. Whilst I've posted here, this applies to all new WA projects in the pipeline

Article from australia mining:

Albemarle hit by labour shortage at Kemerton

August 9, 2021News Nickolas Zakharia

Albemarle's Greenbushes mine (pictured) will supply lithium concentrate to the Kemerton plant.

Albemarle has delayed the second stage of its Kemerton lithium processing plant until early 2022 following labour shortages in Western Australia.

The company stated that the first stage of Kemerton (Kemerton I) is on track to complete construction this year, while the second stage (Kemerton II) has been delayed by three months.

According to Albemarle, the decision was made to prevent the risks of labour shortage and COVID-19 travel restrictions.

“Kemerton I and II are expected to reach commercial production in 2022 following an approximately six-month commissioning and qualification period,” Albemarle stated.

Kemerton is expected to have an initial capacity of around 50,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) with the ability to expand to 100,000 tonnes over time once fully operational.

The Kemerton processing plant forms the basis of Albemarle’s joint venture with Mineral Resources.

In June, Western Australia’s Chamber of Minerals and Energy revealed than around 40,000 extra resources workers may be needed in the next two years to overcome the state’s skills shortage.

CME stated that a peak shortfall of 33,000 workers could be expected during the skills shortage.

“There just isn’t a magic wand by which we can suddenly conjure up tens of thousands of Western Australians with the qualifications and experience needed within the timeframe the market needs them,” CME chief executive officer Paul Everingham said in June.

Miners including Roy Hill have looked at other industries to attract new workers.

Roy Hill chief executive officer Gerhard Veldsman spoke at the Diggers & Dealers mining forum about how the company is looking to hire out-of-work airline pilots to combat the resource sector’s growing skills shortage.

“If you’re an international pilot you’re used to 12-hour shifts,” Veldsman said. “And a big Hitachi truck fully loaded weighs basically the same as an Airbus 380.”

The skills crisis has been worsened by international travel restrictions, interstate border closures and lockdowns.