Greenbushes Lithium

The Cornwall Primary Pegmatite is situated within the Greenbushes Mining Field, South West Region of Western Australia, approximately 250 km south of Perth. The terrain is characterised by undulating lateritic profiles and dense karri/jarrah forest cover. Intense seasonal rainfall in the South West Land Division generates significant haul road degradation, requiring continuous grading cycles and mud management protocols on primary access corridors to sustain uninterrupted ore haulage to the processing plant.

Greenbushes operates as a 24/7 continuous production asset, supplying technical-grade and chemical-grade spodumene concentrate to global lithium chemical converters. Diesel consumption across the mobile fleet — including hydraulic excavators, rigid dump trucks, and ancillary equipment — is substantial and operationally critical. The site depends on dedicated high-voltage substation infrastructure to power processing circuits without interruption. Tantalum concentrate is recovered as a by-product under a separate commercial arrangement with Global Advanced Metals (GAM).

• Primary commodity: Spodumene concentrate (Li₂O)
• By-products: Tantalum concentrate (GAM offtake), Tin (Sn) concentrate
• Ownership: Talison Lithium JV — Tianqi/IGO (51%) + Albemarle (49%)
• Operational model: Continuous multi-shift, DIDO workforce rotation

The Cornwall pegmatite is exploited via open pit benching with progressive underground development. Crushed ore is transferred through an extensive conveyor system network, linking pit infrastructure to Dense Media Separation (DMS) and flotation processing circuits. The materials handling complexity — involving multiple transfer points, tripper conveyors, and stockpile reclaim systems — demands rigorous preventive maintenance schedules. Belt misalignment and spillage management under high-throughput conditions represent primary engineering risk vectors for B2B maintenance contractors.

• Extraction method: Open pit + emerging underground development
• Processing: DMS primary circuit + flotation secondary circuit
• Key infrastructure: Multi-stage conveyor network, crushing stations, tailings storage facilities (TSF)
• Haulage: Rigid dump truck fleet on engineered haul roads

As a critical minerals supplier to the global EV battery supply chain, Greenbushes faces mounting ESG scrutiny from Tier-1 offtakers including Albemarle and Tianqi downstream entities. Decarbonisation pathways under evaluation include solar hybrid power integration to offset diesel dependency in ancillary operations and progressive electrification of light vehicle fleets. Biodiversity offset obligations under WA environmental approvals and progressive land rehabilitation commitments form core non-negotiable ESG compliance pillars for all site contractors and vendors.

• ESG driver: Battery-grade lithium supply chain decarbonisation pressure
• Energy transition: Solar hybrid feasibility studies underway
• Fleet electrification: Light EV adoption in non-production roles
• Rehabilitation: Progressive pit rehabilitation per DMP (WA) conditions
• Reporting framework: Aligned with GRI / TCFD disclosure expectations