THE LEADER VOLUME 16 • NUMBER 6
Cradle to cradle
Editorial Director Paul Moore BSc ( Hons ), MSc Email : paul @ im-mining . com
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Rio Tinto and InoBat , a European battery technology and manufacturing company , have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together to accelerate the establishment of a ‘ cradle to cradle ’ battery manufacturing and recycling value chain in Serbia . The partnership will cover the full commodity lifecycle from mining through to recycling of lithium .
Rio Tinto ’ s Jadar project in Serbia , one of the largest greenfield lithium projects in development , has the potential to produce approximately 55,000 t of battery grade (> 99.5 %) lithium carbonate in Europe , one of the world ’ s largest growing electric vehicles markets . InoBat , a European based battery manufacturer with a battery research and development facility and pilot plant being developed in Slovakia intends to scale up its future production , through gigafactories to be built in the EMEA region . InoBat ’ s goal is to serve the European market with innovative energy solutions , including production and recycling of electric vehicle batteries .
Managing Director of Rio Tinto ’ s borates and lithium businesses , Marnie Finlayson said : “ This collaboration with InoBat will enable an important exchange of knowledge and information on lithium processing , recycling and technologies for the next generation of batteries . It is a visionary initiative and one that is aligned with Rio Tinto ’ s commitment to partnerships that provide solutions to combat climate change .”
It is envisaged the collaboration between Jadar and InoBat will also encourage the development of a complete European lithium and electric vehicle battery value chain that will harness and enhance local skills , environmental , social and governance standards and crossborder interactions for the benefit of Serbia and other European economies that wish to collaborate .
Marian Bocek , Chief Executive Officer of InoBat Auto said : “ The signing of Memorandum of Understanding with Rio Tinto represents an important step in achieving InoBat ’ s goal to utilise a European-based value chain and support European bid for technological independence . Our unique ‘ cradle to cradle ’ approach covers the whole life-cycle of batteries from mining to recycling , in order to underpin circular economy efforts and the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals .”
In 2020 , Rio Tinto approved an investment of almost $ 200 million to complete the final phase of study at the Jadar project , which is expected to be finalised in 2021 , with an investment decision to follow . If approved , construction of the facility would commence in early 2022 and take up to four years .
The scale and high grade nature of the Jadar deposit provides the potential for a mine to supply lithium products into the electric vehicle value chain for decades . If approved , construction of a mine to the highest environmental standards would be a significant investment for Serbia with direct and indirect economic benefits to the Serbian economy .
The Jadar Project is a world-class lithium borate deposit discovered by Rio Tinto in 2004 . It is a unique deposit near the town of Loznica containing jadarite – a new lithium sodium borosilicate mineral . Jadar is the only place in the world where this mineral can be found . Jadar is a combined mine and mineral processing greenfield project . When developed , Jadar will be a modern underground mine with efficient processing plant and sustainable waste facilities .
Jadarite will be mined using modern underground mining methods and best available techniques to secure the safety and sustainability of the mining and processing operation . In addition to battery grade lithium carbonate , it will produce 160,000 t / y of boric acid ( B 2 O 3 units ) and 255,000 t / y of sodium sulphate as by-products .
The Jadar mine and processing facility will generate two types of waste : rock material from the underground mine – from which jadarite cannot be extracted – and industrial waste produced when processing jadarite . Both types of waste will be mixed into a singular solid filter cake mass , similar in structure to the original rock material . Rio Tinto plans to use approximately 20 % of filter cake as backfill for the underground mine . The remaining filter cake will be transported to a carefully managed waste storage area .
After performing around 2,000 chemical tests , a team of Serbian and international experts developed a new processing technology for Jadar ’ s three final products . This technology was successfully proven at a purpose-built pilot plant at Rio Tinto ’ s research centre in Melbourne , Australia , using drilled core samples from the Jadar ore body . It is relocating this plant to Serbia in 2021 so that it is available for further process development and to provide training opportunities for the next generation of Serbian processing and chemical engineers .
Paul Moore Editorial Director paul @ im-mining . com
JUNE 2021 | International Mining 3