Sibanye-Stillwater is advancing the Keliber lithium project in Central Ostrobothnia, western Finland and is in the latter stages of construction with scheduled for completion in H1 2026. SRK UK has been engaged since 2018 as Lenders’ Independent Engineer for the project.
The Keliber lithium project is vertically integrated, with mines producing spodumene ore that will be upgraded at the company’s concentrator close to the mine sites, which will then be upgraded to battery grade lithium hydroxide at the Keliber lithium refinery located in the port city of Kokkola. As the expected life of the refinery exceeds that of the mines, the refinery will have the capacity to process third party spodumene concentrates following cessation of integrated mining and beneficiation.
The Keliber lithium project has adopted Metso’s proprietary Alkaline Leach Process (ALP) for the refinery, instead of the conventional “acid bake” process. The ALP process, for which Keliber lithium project will be the second to enter production, is expected to have advantages over the conventional alternative in the areas of carbon footprint and operating cost, as well as producing a benign solid waste stream that has potential downstream use in the construction industry.
Metso’s development timeline for the ALP has spanned almost 20 years, building on earlier work out of Canada. Much of the process development has been undertaken using Keliber lithium project’s spodumene concentrate produced from laboratory and pilot scale beneficiation testwork.
SRK’s initial involvement in the project was in the Feasibility Study stage, and has followed the project’s progression through Basic Engineering, Detailed Engineering and Construction. SRK influenced the Keliber lithium project’s decision to commission Metso to run a 1:2500 scale pilot plant of the refinery flowsheet – fully continuous and with all recycle streams. The pilot ran in early 2020 and provided valuable data to support Detailed Engineering, further de-risking the project.
Introducing novel technology to the traditionally conservative mining industry requires persistence and long-term thinking. SRK looks forward to continuing to support Sibanye-Stillwater’s partners as the project progresses closer to its moment of truth.
