I think I need to comment here - the 2% cut off grade is from 2011 based on the post, way way way before the EV revolution (probably at a time the main buyers of spodumene was for glass, greases etc). Price back then in 2011 was considerably lower than today, with most of their product I suspect destined for traditional applications in glass, ceramaics and greases. So expect cut off grade to drop considerably for the Greenbushes hard rock mine to drop given increases in prices paid for spodumene since 2011..
((((Also back then if you think about brine producers they were also more interested in the potash credits in brine than lithium as well, noting in a brine deposit for each 1 unit of lithium there are 10 - 15 units of potash.)))
In addition, I think you are missing a date somewhere here - in 2011 Greenbushes was listed on the ASX under Talison. In 2013 I think that is when Tianqi bought it out with Albermale coming onboard. So, the paragraph stating from "
The mining rate will increase to" I suspect in from an article post 2013", when Tianqi took it over and Talison's was delisted from the ASX to become a private company. Be mindful that Greenbushes product I suspect is fully purchased by the two JV partners now been Albermale and Tianqi for their own downstream hydroxide/carbonate operations, hence why you can't find public prices for Greenbushes spodumene sales since 2013, because I couldn't, on what they sell their 6% plus spodumene concentrate for.
Certainly agree Greenbushes needs to go deeper to find resources for increasing their production rate to meet the needs of their JV partners - especially in relation to their chemical grade needs spodumene for their offshore hydroxide/carbonate facilities and their new proposed WA based hydroxide facilities (unless the Greenbushes JV plan is to stop making/reduce making hydroxide in their respective China facilities and direct the spodumene to their new respective facilities in WA.
Obviously Greenbushes also produces technical grade lithium (i.e. difference between this and chemical grade is iron content only as technical grade applications in glass for example need lower iron than batteries albeit batteries need lower iron as well) - not much data around to what Greenbushes proposes to do in the technical grade market as could simply stop producing there and use the higher grade lower iron spodumene their for making far better batteries from hydroxide product.
Anyway, thanks for finding the data, is very interesting.
The way I look at the Greenbushes hydroxide facilities at Kwinana and Kemerton is that you need 6.5 tonnes of 6% grade spodumene to produce min 56.5% lithium hydroxide monohydrate (and 11 tonnes 6% grade spodumene to produce lithium hydroxide). Conversions here - Post #:
38039838 . I suspect Greenbushes will still be exporting spodumene out of Western Australia because their proposed hydroxide facilities are unlikely, based on the specifications of the hydroxide facilities in WA, absorb all Greenbushes proposed 1 mtpa plus of 6% grade spodumene produced from the mine on public information (in your post). This suggests too me the WA hydroxide facilities will supply product outside China whilst the JVs Chinese facilities will continue to operate for the Chinese internal market.
All IMO
