IGO Limited announced that the Kwinana Lithium Hydroxide Refinery (Kwinana) has produced its first lithium hydroxide chemical product. IGO holds a 49% interest in Kwinana through the incorporated lithium joint venture (Lithium JV) it formed with Tianqi Lithium Corporation (Tianqi) on 30 June 2021. Through the Lithium JV, IGO also holds a 25% indirect interest in the Greenbushes mine, the largest, highest-grade lithium mine in the world.
Commissioning of the first production train, Train 1, at Kwinana, has progressed at pace over recent months with the commissioning program designed to hot commission each of the individual unit processes sequentially from calcining, acid roasting, leaching, purification and crystallisation on a batch basis, culminating in the production of the first lithium hydroxide chemical. With first lithium hydroxide production now demonstrated 1, the focus will turn to operating Train 1 on a continuous, rather than batch basis, while also progressively improving product quality to a battery grade product for qualification by the company's offtake customers. It is expected that saleable product will be produced in the December 2021 quarter and that battery grade product for accreditation by customers will be produced in the March 2022 quarter. Train 1 is expected to then progressively ramp up to the design production rate of 24ktpa lithium hydroxide by the end of 2022.