• Pages
  • Editions
01 Cover
02 Welcome Letter / Sections
03 Index & Interview Directory
04 Section 1: Introduction
05 The Road to Recovery
06 ABSA Group Interview
07 PwC Interview
08 Regional Trends
09 Sustainability & ESG Gaining Momentum
10 SRK Consulting Interview
11 Nafasi Water & ZN Geo Services Interviews
12 Section 2: Production, Development and Exploration
13 Precious Metals
14 Gold Fields Interview
15 Harmony & Pan African Resources Interviews
16 Base and Energy Metals
17 Lepidico Interview
18 Trevali Mining Interview
19 Orion Minerals Interview
20 Vedanta Zinc International Interview
21 Kumba Iron Ore Interview
22 Diamonds
23 Lucara Diamond Interview
24 Debswana Interview
25 Section 3: South Africa
26 South Africa
27 Ministry of Mineral Resouces and Energy SA Interview
28 Minerals Council SA Interview
29 Seriti & Exxaro Resources Interviews
30 NSDV & ENSafrica Interviews
31 Insights on South African Mining Industry's Health
32 Section 4: Namibia
33 Namibia
34 Chamber of Mines Namibia Interview
35 RMB & Standard Bank Namibia Interviews
36 Walvis Bay Salt Holdings Interview
37 Insights on Namibia as a Mining Investment Destination
38 Section 5: Equipment and Services
39 The Journey to Modern Mining
40 Murray & Roberts Interview
41 Kal Tire Interview
42 Eazi Access Interview
43 METC Engineering Interview
44 Insights on Digital Mining Revolution in Africa
45 MEMSA Interview
46 Fabchem Mining Interview
47 Insights from Local Manufacturers
48 Energy
49 juwi Interview
50 Engie Impact & Vivo Energy Interviews
51 Howden Interview
52 Section 6: Sponsored Company Profiles
53 Trevali Company Profile
54 Murray & Roberts Company Profile
55 Concluding Remarks
56 Credits

Joe Walsh, Managing Director,

LEPIDICO

"Lepidico’s strategic objective is to build a sustainable lithium chemical business, vertically integrated from the mine to concentration and conversion to fine chemical production, leveraging our proprietary process technologies, L-Max and LOH-Max."

Can you provide an overview of Lepidico?

Lepidico is a lithium development company, listed on the ASX (LPD) since 2016. Lepidico is a unique forward-facing company aiming to become not only a supplier of choice for sustainable lithium chemicals, but also other globally strategic alkali metal compounds. Our proprietary technologies will allow us to become the leader in our field. We are differentiated by the proprietary process technologies that allow us to produce high-purity, nominal battery-grade lithium chemicals from lithium mica and lithium phosphate minerals. The company’s strategic objective is to commercialize its technologies, which have been developed over the past eight years, thereby providing the chemical industry with much needed alternative mineral sources of hard rock lithium.

Pegmatite deposits at the Karibib project in Namibia have historically been mined for tantalite and petalite. However, significant quantities of lepidolite, both in-situ and in surface stockpiles, remain. These resources provide the mineral feed to Lepidico’s Phase 1 project, a vertically integrated development that includes a flotation plant at Karibib that will produce a mineral concentrate for conversion at a new chemical plant to be built in Abu Dhabi that employs the company’s process technologies. This represents a unique development opportunity for the production of lithium, caesium, rubidium and potassium – all valuable and in-demand alkali metals that are on the US’ list of 35 Critical Minerals.

L-Max is our main process technology, which allows us to leach the lithium and other metals within the lepidolite into solution and produce a series of high purity chemical products. LOH-Max is another process technology that enables a lithium sulphate intermediate to be converted directly to lithium hydroxide without production of potentially problematic sodium sulphate, a by-product of conventional process technology.

In addition to lithium, lepidolite also contains significant concentrations of caesium, rubidium, and potassium. These alkali metals are selectively separated as valuable by-products by our L-Max process.

Have you reached a final investment decision on Phase 1 of the project?

A definitive feasibility study was completed in May 2020. Since then, we have been working on securing the requisite permits and approvals, as well as finalizing product offtake agreements and a full funding package. The project is now fully permitted in Namibia, where we have a granted mining licence, a water extraction permit and an environmental compliance certificate. The permitting process is largely complete in Abu Dhabi, where we are waiting to secure a full funding package before signing the land lease, the terms for which have been agreed.

In October 2020, we entered into a mandate agreement with the US Government’s International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which provides funding for projects with solid environmental and social credentials located in developing countries.

What are Lepidico’s strategy and objectives for the next two years?

Lepidico’s strategic objective is to build a sustainable lithium chemical business, vertically integrated from the mine to concentration and conversion to fine chemical production, leveraging our proprietary process technologies, L-Max and LOH-Max, and thereby demonstrating their commercial viability. Based on our definitive feasibility study, we will produce approximately 5,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide per year, plus our valuable by-products. We are looking to make a final investment decision in the second half of 2021, so that we can start mining in Namibia in the second half of 2022, commission the floatation plant in late 2022, followed by the Abu Dhabi chemical plant in early 2023, followed by commercial production. We have excellent environmental and social credentials associated with our project. Our carbon intensity and water usage are low, and we expect to ultimately improve the environment in Namibia as the old mines have never been rehabilitated. We will also provide considerable economic benefits to the local communities where we operate by employing some 115 people at Karibib and creating an estimated 700-800 indirect jobs in the region.

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Interview: Trevali Mining