French miner Imerys to help develop UK’s largest lithium deposit

French mining group Imerys is forming a joint venture with British Lithium to accelerate development of the UK’s largest lithium deposit, in a boost to the country’s efforts to secure the key electric car battery material.

The two companies aim to generate 20,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate a year from granite deposits in Cornwall, enough for 500,000 electric cars, which would help the UK and Europe to reduce their dependence on imports of the critical mineral.

The project is expected to cost about £575mn, roughly two-thirds the expense of the €1bn Emili lithium project that Imerys is developing in central France, according to people familiar with the matter.

Imerys, which has traditionally been more focused on producing minerals for construction and ceramics since its inception in 1880, will have an 80 per cent stake in the venture, which aims to start production by 2028. British Lithium will hold the remaining 20 per cent.

The step forward for the project comes as rival UK developer Cornish Lithium scrambles to raise £10mn of bridge funding by next month to avoid running out of cash before it can arrange a larger fundraise.

Many analysts expect global shortages of lithium for the next decade as miners and processors struggle to keep up with growing demand for electric cars as petrol and diesel vehicles are phased out.

Jordan Roberts, battery raw materials analyst at consultancy Fastmarkets, said the tie-up was “a positive step forward and increases the likelihood of success”.

But he cautioned that “there is still a long way to go until the UK realises domestic lithium production and it remains to be seen if these deposits can be commercially viable”.

Under the agreement, Imerys will contribute its lithium deposits and knowhow in building mines, while British Lithium will bring processing technology.

Founded seven years ago, British Lithium employs 18 scientists and has received £5mn of UK taxpayers’ money to develop its lithium processing technology.

The company has since 2017 been carrying out drilling and exploration on Imerys-owned land, helping the private UK company to develop a pilot lithium processing plant.

Business and trade secretary Kemi Badenoch said on Thursday that “this joint venture between Imerys and British Lithium will strengthen our domestic supply of critical minerals, which is vitally important as we seek to grow the UK’s advanced manufacturing industry”.

The project is expected to bring 300 jobs to Cornwall, adding to the roughly 1,110 people that Imerys employs across its operations in the UK, which include five open-pit mines.

It will also strengthen Imerys’s lithium portfolio, taking its share of European production of the metal to 20 per cent by 2030.

“Building on our recent investment in the Emili project in France, we are uniquely placed to become a leading supplier of lithium in the UK and Europe,” said Alessandro Dazza, chief executive of the French group.

Dazza said its funding plans for the project including bringing in external partners would hinge on the level of government support.

“The US surprised everybody with the IRA,” he told the Financial Times, referring to the Inflation Reduction Act that includes hundreds of billions of dollars worth of tax credits and subsidies for clean energy development. “They are making a lot of money available to accelerate the energy transition. The EU was caught by surprise and is trying to catch up. The UK is even one more step behind.”