Lithium Australia has announced an agreement to increase its stake in Envirostream Australia to a 90 per cent ownership interest.
As an onshore mixed-battery recycling company, Envirostream offers safe, sustainable and innovative management solutions for what is emerging as one of the biggest challenges facing the domestic waste industry.
Having recently reported its first production of mixed metal dust (MMD) from its new battery recycling plant in Melbourne, its first shipment containing cobalt, nickel, lithium and carbon is pending.
Envirostream is the only company in Australia with the integrated capacity to collect, sort, shred and separate all the components of spent lithium iron batteries (LIBs).
Sales of scrap steel, copper and aluminium recovered from the spent LIBs processed to obtain MMD will recommence from the plant next month.
The companies’ partnership has developed methods to retrieve critical metals from spent batteries, and the joint venture is ensuring such procedures remain under Australian control to the point of sale.
Lithium Australia’s current ownership of Envirostream’s interest is 73.7%, moving to a 90% ownership which will add a further $250,000, making a total consideration of $1.3 million.
Lithium Australia and Envirostream’s mutual interest in the sustainable and ethical supply of critical materials in Australia, is a global challenge the companies are effectively facing.
“Maximising the recycling of all battery metals, something rarely done effectively, is a target we have achieved in university-controlled testing,” Lithium Australia managing director Adrian Griffin said.
With the Australian Government’s critical minerals strategy launched April 2019, Envirostream and Lithium Australia plan to create a circular battery economy.
“The battery industry needs to take ownership of the disposal consequences of lithium ion batteries,” Griffin said. “Those batteries contain that should never go to land fill.”
Lithium Australia will begin by uniting both companies’ resources, eventually seeking to vertically integrate lithium recycling, extraction and processing.
“Lithium Australia, as a supplier of battery manufacturing technology, recognised the stewardship role required to mitigate the adverse consequences of battery consumption.”
“By acquiring Envirostream and expanding its processing capacity, we are developing an environmentally responsible framework for every Australian battery consumer.”