China’s Tianqi Lithium Industries is set to build a A$400 million ($306 million) plant in Australia which it aims to open in late 2018, expanding its output of the material mainly for lithium batteries used in electric cars and high-end energy storage.

The plant will take ore from the Greenbushes mine, a spodumene hard rock mine in southwesternAustralia, and would be able to produce 24,000 tonnes a year of lithium hydroxide, boosting Tianqi’s processing capacity by more than 50%, the company said in a statement.

“Tianqi’s plant will produce the highest quality lithium hydroxide which is required in the electric vehicle and high-end energy storage markets,” Tianqi Lithium Australia General Manager Phil Thick said in a statement.

The Greenbushes mine is run by Talison Lithium, which is jointly owned by Tianqi and lithium producer Albemarle ALB 1.32% .

The mine, which mostly supplies Tianqi’s plants in China and accounted for more than 35% of global supply last year, would have to be expanded to feed Tianqi’s new Australian plant.

“We’re looking at studies that will probably more than double that capacity,” Talison’s chief financial officer Lorry Mignacca told Reuters.

Talison does not disclose its capacity, however consultants Stormcrow Capital estimate Greenbushes will produce 110 million tonnes this year.

Engineering studies on the expansion are due to be completed by the end of this year or early 2017, and Talison hopes to commission the plant by early 2019, Mignacca said, which would be in time to supply Tianqi’s new Australian plant.

中国天齐锂业计划斥资4亿澳元（3.06亿美元）在澳大利亚建厂，并将投产时间定为2018年底。这将提高该公司的锂材料产量，后者主要用于制造电动汽车和高端能源储备使用的锂电池。

天齐锂业发布公告称，该厂将使用澳大利亚西南部Greenbushes矿山开采的锂辉石矿，每年可生产2.4万吨氢氧化锂，从而将该公司的加工能力提高50%以上。

天齐澳洲总经理菲尔·西克发表声明称：“该厂将生产质量最好的氢氧化锂，供应电动汽车和高端能源储备市场。”

Greenbushes矿山的经营方为泰利森锂业，由天齐锂业和锂生产商Albemarle共同所有。

该矿山主要为天齐锂业的中国工厂提供原料，占去年全球锂辉石供给的35%以上。为满足天齐澳洲新工厂的需求，该矿山需要进行扩建。

泰利森锂业首席财务官罗瑞·米格那卡对路透社表示：“我们正在考察有可能将产能提高一倍以上的方案。”

泰利森锂业未披露该矿山的产能。咨询公司Stormcrow Capital估算，今年其锂辉石产量将达到1.1亿吨。

米格那卡表示，针对扩建的工程研究定于今年底或2017年初完成，而且泰利森锂业希望在2019年初前完成扩建，从而能够及时为天齐的澳洲新工厂供应原料。（财富中文网）

译者：Charlie

审校：詹妮