Some of the world’s largest nickel and chemicals producers are part of a plan to develop a cathode precursor production pilot plant at Kalgoorlie in Western Australia to produce locally sourced materials for electric vehicle batteries, adding value in downstream processing within Australia.
The companies are members of the Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Centre, which has signed an $A18M contract to design and commission the pilot plant, with installation and commissioning to commence in the March 2022 quarter.
Ardea Resources, an active FBICRC member, says its globally significant Kalgoorlie Nickel project with contained metal resources of 5.9Mt nickel and 384,000t cobalt is well-placed to supply the lithium ion battery sector.