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
€783-million.

Planned Start/End Date
The construction phase of the Keliber lithium project – mine site, concentrator and refinery – is scheduled for completion in the first half of 2026, with the second phase comprising the hot commissioning of the concentrator and refinery and the start of the production build up.

Latest Developments
Sibanye-Stillwater has reported in its results for the quarter ended September 2025 that final construction activities are continuing, including process electrification, as well as the installation of instrumentation and information and communications technology systems. 

Final equipment installation works and the construction of the tailings storage facility is also progressing at the concentrator site.

Capital expenditure for the construction phase at the end of the third quarter was €645-million, excluding capitalised interest and exploration, which remains within the total revised capital forecast of €783-million.

Sibanye-Stillwater guided in August 2025 that lithium market has been in surplus since the first half of 2023, dampening lithium prices and resulting in downward revisions to medium-term lithium market fundamentals. As a result, it is assessing various scenarios to ensure a responsible startup of the project considering market fundamentals.

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.