Electric batteries: France will soon operate its first lithium mine
Lithium-ion batteries in production at the Saft Groupe factory in Poitiers, central France (illustrative image).
©REUTERS/Regis Duvignau
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
The industrial minerals group Imerys announced Monday, October 24 the launch of a major exploitation project by 2027 of a lithium deposit in Allier, in central France.
Advertising
Read more
The European Union wants to produce 100% electric cars by 2035 and thus get rid of thermal vehicles using fossil fuels.
For this, it will need lithium, essential to manufacture the batteries.
And the project of the world leader in mineral specialties for industry, Imerys, could help it get rid of its
virtual dependence on China
.
The group announced on Monday the start of mining by 2027 of a lithium deposit in the Allier, in central France.
A project that should be "
one of the biggest
" in Europe.
After 18 months of underground drilling and studies, the planned investment amounts to one billion euros to exploit for at least 25 years a deposit whose "
concentrations and quantities
" have been deemed "
very attractive
", Imerys said in a statement.
A “critical” mineral for the European Union
Lithium is one of the essential components of batteries intended for vehicles.
As such, it was identified as “critical” by the European Commission in 2020. The deposit “
should provide a sustainable and competitive domestic source of supply for French and European car manufacturers and would contribute significantly to meeting the challenges of the transition energy,
" said Alessandro Dazza, CEO of Imerys.
In its race to reduce greenhouse emissions, the European Union has many plans for electric battery factories, but is sorely lacking in critical raw materials such as lithium, of which China has a virtual monopoly, as well as that of the batteries.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
said in September
that “
lithium and rare earths will soon be more important than oil and gas
.”
Several mining companies are exploring lithium projects in Europe, including Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic.
700,000 electric batteries eventually
Since 1850, the Beauvoir site in the Allier has housed a quarry producing some 30,000 tonnes of kaolin each year, used in the manufacture of porcelain and tiling.
It was bought in 2005 by Imerys.
Since the 1960s, the Geological and Mining Research Bureau (BRGM) has identified the presence of lithium in the subsoil of this site, but Imerys has so far remained extremely cautious about the possibility of exploiting it, claiming until last spring that he had no confirmation of the lithium content or the methods to be used to extract it profitably.
“
In 2021 and 2022, Imerys invested 30 million euros
”, including one million in public funds from a French recovery plan, to finance an exploration and an in-depth analysis of the site.
“
According to the first estimates, the project would make it possible to reach a production of 34,000
tons of lithium hydroxide per year for a duration of at least 25 years
”, indicates the press release.
“
This would be one of the largest lithium extraction projects in the European Union, and could once fully operational, equip the equivalent of 700,000
electric vehicles
with lithium-ion batteries
,” adds Imerys.
The group estimates its production costs “
between 7 and 9 euros per kilo
”, which would guarantee “
an interesting return on investment
”.
It promises in the long term "
1,000 direct and indirect jobs
" in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, spread over two sites.
The first will be the underground lithium extraction mine, embedded in a mica rock.
And the second a mineral purification and lithium hydroxide processing plant, which would be located less than 100 kilometers from the mine and connected by rail.
►Also listen: Accents from Europe - Europe in search of lithium to reduce its energy dependence
(
With agencies
)
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
France
Energies
Industry
Raw materials
Automotive