Industrial Minerals


Albemarle aims to become major global lithium producer by 2013

07 October 2011

by Mark Watts

Chemical group targets 20,000 tpa carbonate at Arkansas bromine brine site

Keywords: Albemarle, lithium, lithium carbonate, bromine, electric vehicles

Albemarle is targeting a production capacity of 20,000 tpa at its lithium carbonate project in Arkansas, the US specialty chemicals group told IM.

The company has been researching methods to extract lithium carbonate from brine at its Magnolia bromine operations for the past year, and is now developing a commercial scale process.

Albemarle is aiming to start up a full-scale plant by 2013 in the southern US state to supply lithium carbonate for the global electric vehicle...