Name of the Project
Keliber lithium hydroxide project.

Location
Central Ostrobothnia, Finland.

Project Owner/s
Multinational mining company Sibanye-Stillwater owns 79.8% of the project, with Finnish Minerals Group holding 20% and other Finnish shareholders 0.2%.

Project Description
As at December 31, 2023, the project had an attributable (79.82%) mineral resource of 15.8-million tonnes grading at 1.2% lithium oxide (Li2O) containing 471 000 t of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE); and mineral reserves of 7.7-million tonnes grading at 1% Li2O containing 182 000 t of lithium carbonate equivalent.

The project entails the development of four opencast and three highly mechanised underground, mining operations – Syväjärvi and Rapasaari, which will be developed first. Development of the Emmes, Outovesi and Länttä operations will follow towards the end of the project life. These operations are situated across Kaustinen, Kokkola and Kronoby.

Ore mined will be fed to the Päiväneva concentrator, which will be situated close to the Rapasaari mine. The concentrator will have an estimated capacity of 200 000 t/y of spodumene concentrate, which will be transported 66 km to the Keliber lithium refinery in the Kokkola Industrial Park.

Once operational, the refinery is expected to produce an estimated 15 000 t/y of lithium hydroxide monohydrate.

Potential Job Creation
By the end of the fourth quarter of 2023 the employee headcount had reached 70.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The 2019 updated definitive feasibility study (DFS) has estimated a pretax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of €510-million, compared with the €295-million estimated in the 2018 DFS.

The pretax internal rate of return has also increased from 24% in the 2018 DFS to 28% in the 2019 updated DFS.

The payback period for the project has decreased from 5.5 years to 3.7 years.

Capital Expenditure
€667-million in 2024 terms.

Planned Start/End Date
Construction of the Keliber project started in the first quarter of 2023 and concentrator earth works in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The project is expected to start production during the first half of 2026.

Latest Developments
The European Commission has designated the Keliber lithium project as a ‘strategic project' under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA). The CRMA aims to ensure that European extraction, processing and recycling of strategic raw materials meet 10%, 40% and 25% respectively of the EU's demand by 2030.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Metso Outotec (sustainable soda pressure leaching technology).

Contact Details for Project Information
Keliber Oy, tel +358 10 567 0600 or email info@keliber.fi.