I've mentioned this a couple of times but lost my previous references to support the statement.
"LiOH does not travel well and needs to be used within 6 months of production. Accordingly, Stage 2 Chemical Conversion plants should be situated near Stage 3 Cathode and Battery parts plants"
Now Livista Energy have publicly stated the same today:
If for some reason the link doesn't work, they say:
"Once converted from spodumene or brine, lithium hydroxide is a highly volatile chemical which does not store nor travel well, having an approximate shelf life of only six months!"
I asked this once of a notable Lithium commentator and he replied basically, that "Greenbushes and SA converters ship LiOH long distances, no problems there" ... but that was a year ago.
However, with Battery parts makers now adjudging impurities in parts per billion rather parts per million, quality is paramount.
IGO succeeded in acquiring 49% of Kwinana AND ALB were more than happy to increase MINs share of Kemerton, as part of the Wodgina deal. These are the top industry players offloading part of their (Australian based) downstream projects.
This underlines the importance of PLS NOT going alone in building Stage 2 Chemical conversion. Participation with POSCO and maybe Livista Energy or another European (which Joe Lowry alluded to last year) in downstream processing, would be a perfect fit for us.
(20min delay)