Lithium & The Future, page-3655

SHANGHAI, April 12 (Reuters) - General Lithium Corp, China’s fourth-biggest lithium producer, plans to start building a plant to convert mineral ore to lithium that will more than triple its capacity by the end of 2020, a company official said on Friday.The plant will convert spodumene, a hard-rock mineral mined for lithium, into 60,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) per year in the city of Yichang, in central China’s Hubei province, said the official, who asked not to be identified, during an interview on the sidelines of an industry conference.The expansion, from General Lithium’s current capacity of 22,000 tonnes of LCE per year, mounts a challenge to competitors Ganfeng Lithium Co and Tianqi Lithium , two of the world’s biggest producers, although all major lithium firms are expanding due to rising demand for the metal used in batteries for electric vehicles.“Our plan is to get this done by the end of next year,” the official told Reuters, adding that General Lithium has already secured all the necessary government approvals for the plant and is preparing the ground to start construction.

https://www.reuters.com/article/china-metals-lithium/chinas-general-lithium-to-launch-60000-t-spodumene-converter-by-end-2020-idUSL3N21U1DJ