‘The sooner the better’: UK village welcomes approval of new lithium extraction plant

Weardale Lithium

PLANS for a lithium extraction plant on the site of a former cement works in County Durham, northeast England, were approved this week.

The plans, approved by Durham County Council on Wednesday, are for a temporary 15-year pilot on the site of the former Eastgate cement works in Weardale. Current plans are for all above-ground structures to be removed by the end of the 15-year period, although the company building the plant, Weardale Lithium, hopes to secure permanent planning permission before this.

Lithium is classed by the UK government as a “critical mineral” owing to its importance for electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems. Weardale Lithium expects to produce 10,000 t/y of battery-grade lithium on site. 

Weardale Lithium is targeting commercial lithium production by late 2026, by which time it expects to employ 125 people at the facility. The company says it will create 20–50 jobs on the site initially and generate £1bn (US$1.25m) in economic activity for one of the UK’s most deprived regions.

The Eastgate cement works closed in 2002 with the loss of almost 200 jobs. John Shuttleworth, an independent councillor for Weardale, told TCE he believes the plant will “regenerate an area that has been [in decline] for a number of years”. He added: “The sooner it happens the better.”

Historically, Weardale was an important area for rare minerals mining, particularly for lead and fluorspar, and Shuttleworth, who lives just three miles away from the Eastgate site, described the valley as “full of minerals”. 

Proven process

The facility will use an existing abstraction well for the direct extraction of lithium from geothermal groundwater. The company says battery-grade lithium will be produced on-site after transporting lithium carbonate brine through pipelines.

Stewart Dickson, CEO of Weardale Lithium, said: “With planning approval granted, we can now move forward and scale up confidently, producing battery-grade lithium carbonate on site using a proven end-to-end process. This will make a significant contribution to the transition of the UK towards a carbon-zero economy.”

Global lithium production is currently dominated by Australia, China, and South America’s “lithium triangle” of Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina, where 50% of the world’s identified lithium reserves are located.

The UK government wants to increase the country’s domestic lithium production to compete globally. A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: “A secure supply of critical minerals, including domestic production of lithium, is vital for our industrial strategy, economic growth, and clean energy transition.

“That’s why we will work hand in hand with industry to publish a new targeted critical minerals strategy this year which will help secure our supply chains for the long-term and drive forward the green industries of the future.”