EVelution Energy is expected to start construction of the plant in Arizona in late 2023.

Company said results of surveys carried out at its Beauvoir mine allow it to produce 34,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide for at least 25 years.

Rather than selling all or part of it, the company is now looking to separate and ring-fence the copper and nickel unit from the iron ore business.

Rio Tinto is the only one of the world’s biggest diversified miners looking to start mining lithium.

Trading volumes have been sliding sharply since the nickel blow-out in March and there's lingering uncertainty as to the future of the exchange's iconic open outcry trading ring, writes Andy Home.

Allkem had in August flagged labour and equipment shortages in Western Australia which forced the company to cut its fiscal 2023 production forecast.