The Federal Government has invested $230 million in Liontown Resources to help secure the final construction stages needed for the Kathleen Valley lithium project.
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) will invest $110 million and the remaining $120 million will come from Export Finance Australia (EFA).
“Nine out of the ten critical minerals necessary for lithium batteries can be found here in Australia, which gives us a massive jobs and economic opportunity in the net-zero transformation,” Federal Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said.
The Kathleen Valley project is expected to create about 900 jobs during construction and about 450 ongoing operational jobs. It has potential to produce about 500,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate each year, making it one of Australia’s largest lithium mines.
Kathleen Valley may also become one of the world’s lowest emissions hard rock lithium producers, being powered by at least 60 per cent renewable energy.
“Making lithium a major export earner puts Australia in the value chain of the world’s automotive and renewable energy industries,” Bowen said.
“Kathleen Valley’s low-carbon approach will be a premium product around the globe, as the world increasingly wants critical minerals with a low-carbon footprint.”
Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King echoed similar sentiments.
“To meet our net-zero targets we will need more mining to build the solar panels, batteries and wind farms we need to reduce emissions,” King said.
“Projects like this show how the (Federal) Government is supporting the resources industry to power our state, the nation and the region.”
Earlier this week, Liontown entered into a $550 million debt facility agreement to fund Kathleen Valley’s development.
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