Yahoo Finance Piedmont Lithium takes a big step forward in plans to build $1B mine near Charlotte
Piedmont Lithium’s plans to build a new $1.2 billion mine and processing plant in Gaston County just took a major step forward.
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources approved Piedmont Lithium’s mining permit for the construction and operation of the project, the Belmont-based lithium supply company said Monday.
Carolina Lithium is “a critical part of the American electric vehicle supply chain,” Piedmont Lithium President and CEO Keith Phillips said in a statement.
LITHIUM LAYOFFS: Why 27% of the workforce was cut
Lithium is used in batteries to power electric vehicles, bikes and personal electronic devices like cell phones. North Carolina is among a few places in the world where lithium mining is possible.
Albemarle Corp., based in Charlotte, also is in the approval process to reopen a lithium mine in Kings Mountain, west of Charlotte.
Piedmont Lithium submitted its proposal in August 2021 for a new lithium mine in the Hephzibah Church Road area on over 1,500 acres east of Cherryville in Gaston County. That’s about 25 miles west of Charlotte.
About the Piedmont Lithium project
Carolina Lithium will be a fully integrated mining, spodumene concentrate and lithium hydroxide manufacturing operation, Phillips said. Lithium is extracted from spodumene found in the granite rock called pegmatite.
Piedmont Lithium can now proceed with the county rezoning process.
Construction is expected to begin next year after all required permits, rezoning approvals, and project financing, including the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office, Phillips said.
Piedmont’s open-pit lithium mine, similar to a quarry, will be up to 500 feet deep, with blasting once a day, The Charlotte Observer previously reported. The company expects to hire over 400 employees with an average salary of $82,000.
Piedmont Lithium hurdles
The state approval removes one of many hurdles for Piedmont Lithium.
In February, Piedmont Lithium laid off 27% of its workforce as part of a cost-savings plan, as lithium prices tanked and electric vehicle sales slowed. Piedmont had 60 employees before the layoffs, leaving the company with about 44 workers.
Piedmont’s plan also has drawn protests over environmental and health concerns.
More about Piedmont Lithium
Along with Gaston County, Piedmont has joint mining operations with Sayona Mining in Quebec and Atlantic Lithium in Ghana, and another project in Tennessee.
Piedmont’s Gaston County mines would be in the Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt, which supplied most of the world’s lithium from the 1950s to 1980s.
And Piedmont has a contract with Tesla, the largest EV car manufacturer in the world, for its lithium.
