Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD) has announced the signing of an agreement with Australia’s Lepidico Ltd to set up the first lithium production facility in the Middle East.
Covering a land area of 57,000 sq m, the first phase of Lepidico’s development for the AED348 million ($95 million) chemical plant will house clean-tech L-Max and LOH-Max process technologies.
The process extracts lithium and recovers valuable by-products from lithium-mica and phosphate minerals. As an eco-friendly, zero-waste facility, the residue predominantly gypsum, will be repurposed for use in the construction industry, a statement said.
Abdullah Al Hameli, head of Industrial Cities & Free Zone Cluster, AD Ports Group, said: “We are pleased to host an innovative and environmentally conscious company like Lepidico, which aims to establish the region’s first lithium production facility in the Middle East, located in KIZAD. The project is a critical enabler for developing an electric vehicle supply chain in the Middle East.”
Joe Walsh, managing director, Lepidico, added: “The signing of the agreement represents an important milestone in developing the first phase of the new chemical plant and enables critical path geotechnical, and infrastructure EPCM works to commence.”
The project comprises two small scale open-pit mines that will feed a mineral concentrator in Namibia, following which the lepidolite concentrate will be shipped to the facility being developed in KIZAD (pictured below) via Khalifa Port.
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