The French group Imerys plans to extract 34,000 tonnes of this metal per year in the Allier.
It is an absolutely major project for the industrial independence of France which was unveiled on Monday. The French group Imerys, a specialist in industrial minerals, has announced the launch of a lithium mining project at its site in Beauvoir, in the Allier region. “We are aiming for a production of 34,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide per year, which would enable 700,000 electric vehicles to be equipped”, rejoices Alessandro Dazza, the group’s general manager.
Lithium has become a strategic resource in recent years with the development of the electric car. An ultra-light metal and electrical conductor, it is essential for making the famous lithium-ion batteries. While there are several technological variants of batteries, they all use lithium. “In a 50 kWh battery, which equips a medium-sized car, you need 40 kilograms of lithium”, says Alessandro Dazza.
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Since the health crisis, European countries have become aware of the importance of industrial sovereignty. Car manufacturers are investing to manufacture motors and electric vehicles on the Old Continent. Battery giga-factory projects have multiplied in recent years in Europe, including three in France. Except that it is also necessary to ensure secure access to raw materials: cobalt, nickel, manganese and lithium. “The supply of metals will be critical” under the “switching from an economy based on hydrocarbons to an economy based on metals”, had warned in January Philippe Varin, former leader of PSA and France Industrie, in a report submitted to the government.
Exploit European reserves
Today, the world’s supply of lithium is mainly provided by Australia (48%), Chile (22%) and China (17%). A few hundred tonnes come from Portugal; but their quality is not sufficient to supply battery manufacturers. Admittedly, most European car manufacturers have signed long-term supply agreements with metal producers outside Europe. But that does not protect them from geopolitical turbulence. Above all, the demand for lithium will explode in the coming years, with the surge in sales of electric cars.
In 2035, Europe has planned a total cessation of the marketing of new cars equipped with internal combustion engines. BCG consultants estimate that lithium demand will be 2.2 million tonnes worldwide in 2030, compared to barely 100,000 tonnes today.. It is therefore necessary to exploit European reserves. Because they exist. Many projects are in development on the Old Continent. The problem is that it is difficult to carry them out. The biggest, in Serbia, was canceled following local protests. The next one, in Germany, is based on completely new technologies
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This is not the case with Imerys. Today, the group uses kaolin, used for crockery or tiling, at its Beauvoir site. Since studies carried out in the 1960s by the BRGM, the Bureau of Geological and Mining Research, we know that lithium exists below the kaolin quarry. Over the past two years, Imerys has decided to invest in order to determine its exact potential. “The first BRGM studies reported a reserve of 320,000 tonnes of lithium, details Alessandro Dazza. The studies that we conducted allowed us to determine that there were at least 1 million tonnes. Which represents twenty-five years of production. And the deposit goes further. We still need to conduct research to determine its exact size. »
Operation in 2028
From a technical standpoint, in addition to the mine itself, Imerys will also build a plant to transform lithiniferous mica into lithium hydroxide, a powder that can be used directly in battery giga-factories. Great efforts will be made to minimize the environmental impact of the project. Mining operations will thus be totally underground (between 75 and 350 meters deep), which will reduce the footprint on the ground and the dust generated. All mining machinery will be electric. A pipeline will be set up between the mine and a first loading point on the edge of the railway line, which will allow the lithium to be shipped to the processing plant. The latter, located about a hundred kilometers from the mine, will be installed in one of the pre-selected artificialized industrial zones. “We will respect the criteria of responsible mining, this framework pushed by Australian, Canadian and South African mining groups recommended by Philippe Varin in his report”, further specifies Alessandro Daza.
The commissioning of the plant is now scheduled for 2028. Imerys managers hope that the project has enough assets to overcome the opposition that will inevitably arise. In addition to the environmental efforts, the fact that there is already a long-running quarry where the mine will be located is a plus. The group also relies heavily on the support of the public authorities. “We have lithium mines in France and we will develop them thanks to the new mining code; it is key for our sovereignty,” thus explained Emmanuel Macron, in an interview granted to the Echoes, October 16.
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This project represents colossal investments for Imerys, around 1 billion euros, with the creation of 1,000 direct jobs as a result. The group has already invested around 30 million euros in order to carry out surveys and carry out the first preliminary studies on the project. It will then be necessary to determine precisely the size of the deposit, the technical choices and the exact location of the transformation site, and to definitively calibrate the amount of the investments. Imerys plans to house this mine in an ad hoc structure and set up dedicated financing. Public bodies could no doubt participate in the operation. As well as customers, in particular car manufacturers, who would guarantee volumes at the same time.
The production costs of French lithium hydroxide should be between 7 and 9 euros per kilo. The selling price of lithium is currently around 70 euros per kilo. At these price levels, the annual turnover generated by this mine alone should approach 2.4 billion euros. The project should therefore be very profitable, despite the amortization of the investment.
Five construction sites
The government has just made public the winners of 5 calls for “critical metals” projects, which it will partly finance:
● Imerys, with its lithium mine;
● the Viridian project, in Alsace, for refining lithium;
●the recycling of lithium-ion batteries by Eramet;
● Sanou Koura, a project in the Ardennes for the extraction of critical metals contained in electronic waste;
● increasing the capacity of the WEEecycling site, in Seine-Maritime, which also recycles electronic waste.
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