The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
Metal Tech News – August 9, 2023
This pumping engine house above the 19th century Wheal Coates tin mine on the Cornish coast has been preserved as a monument to Cornwall's enduring mining history.
Cornish Lithium carries out drilling at the United Downs geothermal lithium project in Cornwall, United Kingdom.
In support of domestic sources of lithium that will help power the United Kingdom's green industrial revolution, the UK Infrastructure Bank led a US$67 million (53.6 million British pounds) investment in Cornish Lithium plc.
"Our investment in Cornish Lithium perfectly encapsulates a key part of our mission – to drive forward new and emerging markets that the UK will rely on to meet its net zero goals, and which will deliver an enduring and positive impact on local economies," said UK Infrastructure Bank CEO John Flint.
The US$30 million (24 million pounds) invested by this bank, established as part of the UK's 2020 National Infrastructure Strategy, was matched by EMG, a United States-based private equity fund focused on the energy and minerals sectors.
"EMG is pleased to partner with the existing owners of Cornish Lithium as well as the UK Infrastructure Bank in this financing package for Cornish Lithium as it provides for sufficient capital formation necessary to achieve commercial production of what is envisioned to become a critical domestic supply source of lithium for the UK battery industry while contemporaneously advancing the economic development of the long-standing Cornish mining industry," said EMG Executive Chairman John Raymond.
TechMet Ltd., Cornish Lithium's largest shareholder, contributed US$7 million (5.6 million pounds) to the financing.
Part of a larger funding package that could include a further US$210 million (168 million pounds) additional cash infusion, this initial investment is expected to significantly accelerate Cornish Lithium's vision of establishing the historic Cornwall mining region as a future supply of battery-grade lithium for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage solutions.
"As well as creating job opportunities and fostering innovation, the investment signals confidence in our ambitions and will drive forward the modern-day renaissance of Cornwall's 4,000-year mining heritage," said Cornish Lithium CEO Jeremy Wrathall.
Cornish Lithium's ambitions include producing lithium from both geothermal waters and hardrock sources in Cornwall, a region that traces its mining roots back to the Bronze Age.
On the geothermal front, Cornish Lithium is developing environmentally sound technologies to directly extract lithium from deep geothermal waters delivered by GeoCubed, a collaboration between Cornish Lithium and Geothermal Engineering Ltd., and shallow geothermal waters from Cornish Lithium's own research wells.
On the hardrock front, the UK-based company is working toward the development of a commercial mine at its Trelavour project in Cornwall.
In 2021, Cornish Lithium's ambitions were bolstered by a US$24 million (18 million pounds) investment by TechMet, a critical minerals investment company founded by South African mining magnate Brian Menell and backed by U.S. Development Finance Corp.
With an initial US$12 million tranche of this investment, Cornish Lithium completed a scoping study that outlined plans to develop a mine and processing plant at Trelavour capable of producing 7,800 metric tons of battery-grade lithium hydroxide, enough for more than 100,000 average-sized EVs, per year.
Encouraged by the results, TechMet followed up with another US$12 million to continue advancing demonstration-scale plants for both hardrock and direct lithium extraction from geothermal waters in the Cornwall region.
The US$67 million investment by UK Infrastructure Bank, EMG, and TechMet will allow Cornish Lithium to further its ambitions of establishing Cornwall as a lithium hub for the UK.
"This funding will enable us to progress our Trelavour hard rock lithium project to a construction-ready status as well as completing the engineering design work required to build a demonstration-scale geothermal waters extraction facility," said Wrathall.
The US$210 million funding package waiting in the wings will go a long way toward completing the development of a lithium hub that will restore Cornwall's mining legacy, bolster the local economy, and support the UK's net-zero energy transition.
"This major investment package will mean jobs for Cornwall and is a very positive step for the UK energy transition," said Menell. "Cornish Lithium has a very bright future as the UK's pre-eminent lithium producer, providing a vital supply of lithium to the British battery industry."
The Trelavour mine development alone is estimated to generate US$1 billion (800 million pounds) of economic activity for the local economy over an initial 20 years of operation. This figure is expected to increase further through development of the company's geothermal waters project portfolio.
"This is fantastic news for the Cornish economy and the UK car industry as a whole," said United Kingdom Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch said in a statement on the Cornish Lithium investment package. "This announcement demonstrates that the Government has got the right plan in place to help produce the batteries we need to ramp up our domestic electric vehicle production."
With more than 16 years of covering mining, Shane is renowned for his insights and and in-depth analysis of mining, mineral exploration and technology metals.
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