Australian mining company Pilbara Minerals said on Monday that the board of directors has decided to pursue its battery material capabilities with steel company Posco by setting up a lithium recycling plant in South Korea.
As specified in the statement, Pilbara's share in the plant with a capacity of up to 40,000 kg per year in lithium carbonate equivalent will be 30 percent.
Pilbara said the lithium hydroxide will be produced in-house using Posco's patented PosLX purification process. Lithium hydroxide is a key ingredient in battery manufacturing.
The miner aims to increase production of battery chemicals due to the growing demand for electric vehicles around the world.
Earlier this year, Pilbara said it had agreed to sell about 240,000 tonnes of lithium concentrate per year to Posco. In addition, Pilbara and several other Australian lithium manufacturers have entered into supply agreements with Chinese car and battery manufacturers as China is expanding its EV capacity the fastest in the world.
Pilbara and Posco intend to complete construction of the Gwangyang Free Zone plant by the end of 2020.
