Aussie lithium miners square up to China's battery might | The Business | ABC NEWS

By ABC News (Australia)

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Some Australian lithium miners are trying to bring an extra step in the booming battery supply chain onshore. But they face immense competition from China and expensive operating conditions in Australia. While a host of state and federal support measures are on the table, experts say there must be more to help the fledgling sector thrive. Australia holds some of the world's largest lithium reserves, and the people that live here are rapidly adopting lithium-ion batteries in their homes and cars, like BYD EVs. For most of their recent history, Australian lithium miners dug up a mineral form of lithium called spodumene and shipped it overseas, mostly to China, for processing into battery chemicals such lithium hydroxide. Recently, a small number of WA lithium miners have started to perform another step of processing in Australia, turning their spodumene into a finished battery-grade chemical. But commercial results have been mixed. Covalent, a joint venture between Wesfarmers and C

Tags: Australia, abc, abc news, news, business news, finance news, economic news, economy, finance, the business, abc news australia, lithium, evs, byd, China, lithium-ion batteries, home batteries, spodumene, lithium hydroxide, Wesfarmers