Tees Valley lines up lithium deal with Britishvolt’s top bidder

Top nickel producer Indonesia has ambitious plans to start processing its rich supplies of nickel laterite ore used in lithium batteries and eventually become a global hub.

IGO said it was in preliminary talks to acquire Western Areas as part of efforts to raise its footprint in battery materials.

S&P Global Market Intelligence reports the volume of critical minerals flowing into the country in H1 2021 surpassed the 316,108 tonnes imported in H1 2020 by 41,209 tonnes.

Hainan Mining wants to produce 20,000 tonnes per year of lithium hydroxide, a chemical favoured in lithium-rich EV batteries.

The Kwinana plant is expected to reach its initial 24,000 tonne per year capacity by the end of 2022.

Andrew Forrest has long signaled he’s interested in battery metals and has expressed ambitions to get into the business for years.

Forrest's move follows a takeover attempt by his Wyloo Metals for Canadian nickel-copper miner Noront Resources Ltd where he's up against BHP.

Wyloo said it is considering making a "superior" offer to acquire the remaining stake in the Canadian nickel miner.

The company reported second-quarter earnings of $89.8 million compared with $50.8 million in the year-ago period.