Of the lithium the country exports, 99 per cent comes from WA, but the nation’s latest producer wants to add the Northern Territory to that equation.
Of the lithium that Australia exports, 99 per cent comes from Western Australia, but the nation’s newest lithium producer, ASX-listed Core Lithium, wants to add the Northern Territory to that equation.
Because Australia does not process lithium onshore, most of the product will go to China, where Core Lithium has deals with Chinese “converters” Ganfeng Lithium and Sichuan Yahua. “There’s a number of different battery chemistries, and lithium plays a role in every one of them so far,” Mr Manderson toldLithium will play an important role in Australia’s economic story, he added.
But Core’s exploration manager is trying not to get too excited, saying the firm is “cautiously optimistic”.“Despite the early promise, it is early days so it remains to be seen what pegmatite geometries we can detect,” Andy Bennett said.Despite continuing trade tensions with China, the vast majority of iron ore and lithium shipments flowed to Australia’s largest trading partner.