$200 million contract for Monadelphous

Albemarle has awarded Monadelphous a $200 million contract for construction work at its Kemerton lithium hydroxide processing plant in WA.

Under the contract, Monadelphous will construction processing trains three and four, creating over 1000 construction jobs.

The new processing trains will enable Kemerton to produce up to 100,000 tonnes per annum of lithium hydroxide, supporting the manufacture of approximately 2.4 million electric vehicles annually.

Monadelphous has previously worked on Kemerton processing trains one and two.

“We are very pleased to have Monadelphous back onboard for the construction of processing trains 3 and 4,” Albemarle vice president, capital projects Australia Josh Rowan said. “Their ability to deliver the works safely and at schedule is critical to the project’s success.

“Monadelphous was also recently awarded long-term maintenance and sustaining capital projects contracts for Albemarle’s Kemerton operations.”

Albemarle agreed to amend the terms of the MARBL lithium joint venture (with includes the Kemerton processing plant) it shares with Mineral Resources (MinRes) last week.

Under the new agreements, Albemarle will take 100 per cent ownership of Kemerton  and will retain full ownership of its Qinzhou and Meishan lithium processing facilities in China.

Kemerton recently took delivery of first steel, and construction work is expected to begin soon.