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- Allkem (AKE) inks the first of productions at its stage two Olaroz Lithium facility with wet lithium carbonate cake produced
- Olaroz stage two has a nameplate capacity of 25,000 tonnes per year of technical-grade lithium carbonate
- The company will now focus on increasing production volumes and product quality over a 12-18 month ‘ramp-up’ period
- Once the ramp-up stage is complete Allkem’s combined Olaroz stage one and stage two infrastructure will have a capacity of 42,500 tpa of lithium carbonate
- AKE shares are up 0.95 per cent, trading at $16.47 at 1:52 pm AEST
Allkem (AKE) has officially minted the first production from its stage two Olaroz lithium facility with wet lithium carbonate cake produced.
Olaroz stage two has a nameplate capacity of 25,000 tonnes per year of technical-grade lithium carbonate, and AKE has now achieved mechanical completion at 99.5 per cent.
Stage two saw the construction of 15 extra brine wells, 31 evaporation ponds, three lime plants, a reverse osmosis water plant, a soda ash plant, a carbonation plant, workforce accommodation, and other services.
AKE Managing Director and CEO Martin Perez de Solay said the successful expansion of Olaroz reflected Alkem’s growth strategy and commitment, ensuring long-term social and economic sustainability.
“This achievement demonstrates the expertise of our team who will now focus on completion of commissioning and ramp-up to full capacity,” he said.
The company’s future focus will be aimed toward the completion of the commissioning process through progressively increasing production volumes and product quality over a 12-18 month ‘ramp-up’ period.
Once the ramp-up stage has been completed, the company’s combined Olaroz stage one and stage two infrastructure will have a nameplate capacity of 42,500 tonnes per annum (tpa) of lithium carbonate.
Olaroz stage two is intended to supply up to 9,500 tpa of technical grade lithium carbonate feedstock to Alkem’s Naraha lithium hydroxide plan, which was recently commissioned in Japan.
AKE shares were up 0.95 per cent, trading at $16.47 at 1:52 pm AEST.
