A firm hoping to extract the key mineral lithium from ground below the North Pennines has raised £3.4m to support its operations.
Northern Lithium, which is based at Stanhope in County Durham, announced plans last year to raise £6m in a number of phases to support its operations. An initial fundraise that aimed to bring in £2m to support its activities in the first half of this year closed at £3.45m and marketing will begin soon to bring in another £2.5m.
In addition, the company has completed a 60-day test that it says provides further proof that economically viable levels of lithium can be extracted from hot water under the North Pennines. The company said its latest trials were a “resounding success” and are believed to be one of only a handful of such projects that have been concluded at that scale outside China.
Northern Lithium last year joined forces with North West-based Evove to produce lithium carbonate suitable for use in batteries. Lithium is a critical raw material in the manufacture of rechargeable batteries and Ƶ production of the material would be a boost to the country’s electric vehicle sector.
Currently battery makers depend on imported lithium from Asia, Australia and South America, though a number of companies in the North East and the South West are trying to establish Ƶ production. Industry experts have estimated that the Ƶ will need up to 80,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent per year by 2030 and as much as 135,000 tonnes per year by 2040.
Managing director Nick Pople said: “The results of these recent trials are a great step forward for our unique partnership established to deliver a secure, sustainable supply of lithium for the Ƶ using Northern Lithium’s Ƶ lithium brines, Evove’s Ƶ developed advanced DLE technology and RSE’s Ƶ process engineering expertise.”
He added: “The success of our fundraising to date reflects not just confidence in the progress we are making at Northern Lithium, but also a growing acceptance that the Ƶ needs to develop its own secure and sustainable domestic lithium supply. We are confident that Northern Lithium is well placed to play a key part in meeting the Ƶ’s fast-rising demand for lithium, across everything from EVs and low carbon infrastructure to key elements of defence equipment.”
Sam Rushworth, MP for Bishop Auckland, said: "Northern Lithium’s continued progress towards commercial production and delivery of a domestic supply of lithium at scale, is good news for economic growth and creating jobs in an area that has suffered from de-industrialisation.
"Beyond the jobs created on site, this opens new economic opportunities in County Durham and the North East and is important to the government’s forthcoming Industrial and Critical Minerals Strategy which aims to create a secure and sustainable supply of critical minerals for the Ƶ.”
