After unveiling French project, Imerys sees lithium potential in UK's Cornwall
07/11/2022 18:03
PARIS, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Minerals company Imerys
IMTP.PA has detected lithium in the British region of Cornwall
and sees potential for its second foray into mining of the
electric-vehicle battery metal after a French project unveiled
last month, executives said on Monday.
The group this year undertook an assessment of its kaolin
mining site in Cornwall and obtained an initial confirmation of
the presence of lithium, Guillaume Delacroix, senior vice
president in charge of performance minerals for EMEA, said
during an investor presentation.
Imerys is pursuing exploration to establish the viability of
mining lithium in the zone and views its kaolin operations in
Cornwall's longstanding mining industry as an advantage should
it decide to develop a project, he added.
Other companies have been prospecting for lithium in
Cornwall as Britain, like the rest of Europe, seeks to reduce
its reliance on imported minerals for electric vehicle
batteries.
Imerys announced in late October a plan to produce around
34,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide annually for at least 25
years from 2028, after finding a large deposit under a kaolin
mine it operates in central France.
Chief Executive Officer Alessandro Dazza said he believed
the lithium deposit in Cornwall represented "a quite significant
amount" but less than detected at the company's Beauvoir site,
north of Clermont-Ferrand, which was among the biggest found in
Europe.
He reiterated that Imerys is keeping its options open about
financing the Beauvoir lithium plan, for which it sees
construction costs of about 1 billion euros ($1 billion).
A decision is expected next year on whether to take on a
partner, with Imerys' preference to keep majority control, Dazza
said.
The Beauvoir mine also has a significant amount of tantalum,
which is used in electronic goods, as well as tin, which is
partly used for semiconductors, and Imerys has started studying
the possibility to extract these minerals that it does not
currently produce, Dazza said.
Imerys announced financial targets for 2023-2025, including
a goal to reach a core earnings margin of 18%-20% by 2025.
($1 = 0.9984 euros)
(Reporting by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Paul Simao)
((gus.trompiz@thomsonreuters.com; +33 1 49 49 52 18; Reuters
Messaging: gus.trompiz.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))