AUSTRALIA’S first lithium hydroxide processing plant, under construction in the Kwinana Industrial Area, is going corporate with the official opening of its offices on Tuesday .
Tianqi Lithium general manager Phil Thick welcomed guests and staff to the official office opening.
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READ NOWThe opening will be followed by the transfer of more than 60 staff from West Perth to Kwinana over the next month.
More than 100 additional permanent staff will be added to the Kwinana site over the next year.
The move to the purpose-built office located on-site at the plant marks a major milestone in Tianqi Lithium’s Western Australian investment program.
Construction of the first stage of the 48,000t capacity plant is nearing completion and the process of staged commissioning leading to ramp-up is about to commence. Stage 2 is also progressing well and commissioning will follow closely behind Stage 1.
The Kwinana plant will be the first fully automated lithium chemical manufacturing facility outside of China.
Mr Thick said $700 million was being spent on the two-stage plant construction, creating more than 700 construction jobs and successfully meeting a target of more than 80 per cent local content.
“While our office staff move to Kwinana, we are also continuing recruitment for the plant over the next six to 12 months, and most of those recruits will be local people from the Kwinana, Rockingham and surrounding areas,” he said.
Special guests at the office opening included Tianqi Lithium Chairman Jiang Weiping and President Vivian Wu. Kwinana MLA Roger Cook and City of Kwinana Mayor Carol Adams also attended.