- AustraliaNorth AmericaWorld
Investing News NetworkYour trusted source for investing success
Chariot Corporation
BHP Group Ltd
Red Metal Resources
Black Swan Graphene
- Lithium Outlook
- Oil and Gas Outlook
- Gold Outlook Report
- Uranium Outlook
- Rare Earths Outlook
- All Outlook Reports
- Top Generative AI Stocks
- Top EV Stocks
- Biggest AI Companies
- Biggest Blockchain Stocks
- Biggest Cryptocurrency-mining Stocks
- Biggest Cybersecurity Companies
- Biggest Robotics Companies
- Biggest Social Media Companies
- Biggest Technology ETFs
- Artificial Intellgience ETFs
- Robotics ETFs
- Canadian Cryptocurrency ETFs
- Artificial Intelligence Outlook
- EV Outlook
- Cleantech Outlook
- Crypto Outlook
- Tech Outlook
- All Market Outlook Reports
- Cannabis Weekly Round-Up
- Top Alzheimer's Treatment Stocks
- Top Biotech Stocks
- Top Plant-based Food Stocks
- Biggest Cannabis Stocks
- Biggest Pharma Stocks
- Longevity Stocks to Watch
- Psychedelics Stocks to Watch
- Top Cobalt Stocks
- Small Biotech ETFs to Watch
- Top Life Science ETFs
- Biggest Pharmaceutical ETFs
- Life Science Outlook
- Biotech Outlook
- Cannabis Outlook
- Pharma Outlook
- Psychedelics Outlook
- All Market Outlook Reports
Who Owns Australia's Largest Lithium Mines? (Updated 2024)
As the top lithium producer globally, Australia is home to many mines focused on the commodity. Learn where they are and which companies are running them.
As the world’s largest lithium producer and exporter, Australia is positioned to take full advantage of growing demand.
An impressive 47 percent of the world’s lithium production comes from Australia, and the country's lithium production comes from its hard-rock spodumene deposits. Australia holds the world's second highest lithium reserves behind Chile, which hosts lithium in brine.
Lithium has a variety of uses, including ceramics and medications, as well as in aluminium or magnesium alloys as a strengthening and lightening agent.
But a key use of lithium is in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries for electronic devices such as cell phones, cameras, laptops and, of course, electric vehicles (EVs). It is the last of these applications that has investors most excited — lithium is critical to EV production, as its unique properties help create the lightweight batteries they need to function.
Demand for EVs is on the rise as automakers bring new electric lines to market. BloombergNEF expects global passenger EV sales to increase 21 percent in 2024 to reach 16.7 million units, and 70 percent of those units are expected to be fully electric.
Currently, 80 percent of lithium consumption worldwide is attributed to rechargeable battery manufacturing, representing an excellent opportunity for Australia, the world’s top lithium producer. The nation has already seen recent successes due to the EV boom, and with analysts bullish on lithium's long-term future, Australia is positioned to capitalise on the market.
In 2024, Australia's revenue from exporting the commodity is expected to total AU$11.31 billion. While prices for the battery metal have fallen off from recent highs, leading to a revenue drop this year compared to 2023's AU$20.19 billion, some experts believe that the green energy transition will allow lithium to maintain its momentum well into the future.
With all of these factors in mind, investors may be wise to look toward the companies that own lithium mines in Australia.
Where are Australia's largest lithium mines?
Most of lithium resources in Australia are located in Western Australia, where there are several robust hard-rock deposits. Lithium mined in Australia comes mainly from spodumene, though it can be found in other minerals as well, such as lepidolite. A typical lithium deposit in Australia will have a grade of between 1 and 3 percent lithium oxide.
In 2023, Australia reported total output of 86,000 tonnes of lithium, above its 2022 total of 74,700 tonnes. The country’s lithium production numbers first began spiking in 2017, jumping to 40,000 tonnes from 14,000 tonnes in 2016, thanks to accelerating output from two spodumene operations launched in 2017, Mount Marion and Wodgina.
Australia's lithium mines and lithium companies
Australia is host to numerous lithium mines, including the Greenbushes, Mount Marion, Wodgina and Pilgangoora lithium operations.
Greenbushes is the largest operational lithium mine globally and the longest continuously operated mining site in Western Australia. It was launched in 1983 and has been processing lithium since 1985.
Since then, Greenbushes has expanded greatly, and gained a second lithium-processing plant in 2019. The mine produces about 1.5 million tonnes of lithium spodumene annually.
Greenbushes is owned by Talison Lithium, which is 51 percent controlled by Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia — itself a 50/50 joint venture between Australia’s IGO (ASX:IGO,OTC Pink:IPDGF) and China’s Tianqi Lithium (SZSE:002466,HKEX:9696) — and 49 percent owned by Albemarle (NYSE:ALB).
Another key lithium mine in Australia is Mount Marion, a joint venture between Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN,OTC Pink:MALRF) and Ganfeng Lithium (OTC Pink:GNENF,SZSE:002460,HKEX:1772). The mine is located in the Yilgarn Craton, southwest of Kalgoorlie. The joint venture partners recently upgraded Mount Marion's annual plant capacity to 900,000 tonnes. As of June 2024, underground development is now underway at Mount Marion with first production from this new phase in the mine's operations beginning by the end of 2025.
Mineral Resources also has an interest in the Wodgina lithium mine, which launched operations in Kemerton, Western Australia, in April 2017, but was put on care and maintenance two years later. Mineral Resources and Albemarle created the MARBL joint venture to bring Wodgina back online as the lithium market heated back up, and it reentered production in 2022 with Mineral Resources as the operator. This asset has two production sites, each of which has annual output of around 25,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide. Mineral Resources signed an agreement in February 2023 to increase its ownership from 40 percent to 50 percent, with Albemarle owning the remaining interest.
Thanks to the production from Mount Marion and Wodgina, Mineral Resources reached a new record for spodumene production shipments in its 2024 fiscal year.
The Pilgangoora project, which is fully owned by Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS,OTC Pink:PILBF), is located in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, close to Port Hedland. The mine’s location is auspicious, considering that the Pilgangoora orebody is one of the largest lithium deposits globally. Additionally, Pilgangoora's two operational processing plants allow for increased production capacity, enabling the mine to better meet the market’s current demands. The project is undergoing further expansion initiatives slated for completion in 2025 as the company aims to tap into the full potential of its lithium reserves.
The Mount Cattlin mine, owned by Allkem, a subsidiary of Arcadium Lithium (NYSE:ALTM), is located near Ravensthorpe in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. The asset produced about 131,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate in its 2023 fiscal year. Guidance for its 2024 fiscal year is set at a range of 210,000 to 230,000 tonnes. Mount Cattlin is set to become a part of Rio Tinto's (ASX:RIO,NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO) diverse global mining portfolio as part of the mining giant's US$6.7 billion proposed acquisition of Arcadium Lithium.
Australian lithium projects and expansions
One major new lithium operation on the scene is the Western Australian Mount Holland lithium mine, which is owned by Covalent Lithium, a joint venture between Wesfarmers (ASX:WES,OTC Pink:WFAFF) and SQM (NYSE:SQM). Spodumene production recently began in 2024, with expected annual production of 380,000 tonnes. The company's Kwinana lithium refinery is now under construction. Once the full site is online in 2025, Covalent anticipates production of around 50,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide annually.
Mount Holland isn’t the only Australian lithium operation under development right now. The country is seeing the expansion of key lithium projects, as well as the development of new deposits, in order to meet anticipated future demand from the battery metal.
At Greenbushes, for example, a third chemical plant is under construction and will have a production capacity of 500,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate, with completion anticipated in the 2025 fiscal year.
The Northern Territory-based Finniss lithium project, owned by Core Lithium (ASX:CXO,OTC Pink:CXOXF), produced its first spodumene lithium concentrate in February 2023. Despite setbacks brought on by low lithium prices, the company is focused is on establishing Finniss as a multi-mine operation. Operations at the Grants open-pit mine as well as a final investment decision at the BP33 underground project, a potential second mine at Finniss, are both on hold until market conditions improve.
Western Australia's Kathleen Valley deposit is an up-and-coming lithium deposit owned by Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR,OTC Pink:LINRF) and located near Kalgoorlie. The mine came online in July 2024, and is expected to produce approximately 500,000 tonnes per year of spodumene concentrate by the end of Q1 2025, with an expansion planned in year six to bring its production to 700,000 tonnes per year.
Pilbara Minerals started the next stage of the Pilgangoora plant expansion in March 2023, making the decision to increase the production capacity of the Pilgangoora project by about 47 percent, from 680,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate per annum to 1,000,000 tonnes per annum. In its June 2024 quarterly report, the company shared that this project is still on track to reach this target next year.
Further down the pike is Global Lithium Resources' (ASX:GL1) Manna lithium project, a lithium-caesium-tantalum pegmatite deposit also in Western Australia. Manna's mineral resource estimate comes in at 51.6 million tonnes at 1 percent lithium oxide, which the company says "positions the project as the second largest lithium resource in the Kalgoorlie Lithium province." The company expects to complete a definitive feasibility study this year with the goal of reaching first production by the third quarter of 2026.
This is an updated version of an article first published by the Investing News Network in 2022.
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Australia for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, currently hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
- Top 5 ASX Lithium Stocks ›
- ASX Lithium Stocks: 5 Biggest Companies in 2023 ›
- Where Does Tesla Get its Lithium? ›
- Lithium Reserves: Top 4 Countries ›
- Top 9 Lithium-producing Countries ›
Melissa Pistilli has been reporting on the markets and educating investors since 2006. She has covered a wide variety of industries in the investment space including mining, cannabis, tech and pharmaceuticals. She helps to educate investors about opportunities in a variety of growth markets. Melissa holds a bachelor's degree in English education as well as a master's degree in the teaching of writing, both from Humboldt State University, California.
Investing News Network websites or approved third-party tools use cookies. Please refer to the cookie policy for collected data, privacy and GDPR compliance. By continuing to browse the site, you agree to our use of cookies.
Melissa Pistilli has been reporting on the markets and educating investors since 2006. She has covered a wide variety of industries in the investment space including mining, cannabis, tech and pharmaceuticals. She helps to educate investors about opportunities in a variety of growth markets. Melissa holds a bachelor's degree in English education as well as a master's degree in the teaching of writing, both from Humboldt State University, California.
Learn about our editorial policies.