Piedmont Lithium highlights ESG credentials with inaugural sustainability report
Pioneering North American battery minerals miner and producer Piedmont Lithium (ASX: PLL) is building in its ESG credentials with the unveiling of its inaugural sustainability report.
Titled “Progressing with Purpose” the maiden report highlights the company’s commitment to creating quality environmental, social, and governance (ESG) operations at its wholly-owned Tennessee Lithium and Carolina Lithium projects.
The new report comes at a time when Piedmont is flying high as one of the new pioneers leading Canada and the US’s lithium rebirth.
Earlier this year, Piedmont and its JV partner Sayona Mining (ASX:SYA) grabbed international attention through their reinvigoration of the North American Lithium (NAL) project in Québec, Canada – which is rated as North America’s leading hard rock lithium producer.
Milestone for Piedmont’s ESG journey
According to Piedmont president and chief executive officer, Keith Phillips, the release of the sustainability report is an important milestone for the company as it commences its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) journey.
“We are fortunate to be starting from a clean slate with the full ability to build sustainability into the foundation of our organisation,” Mr Phillips said.
“Our inaugural sustainability report represents an important first step in formalising our ESG efforts as we develop our operations. We are pleased to share our plans with our stakeholders as we advance our projects in Tennessee and North Carolina and our equity interests in Quebec and Ghana.”
Aside from highlighting the company’s integrity and due diligence, the sustainability report also acts as a guide to Piedmont’s ESG strategy.
Mr Phillips said that strategy is based on four key pillars: planet, people, communities, and governance.
Addressing environmental impacts
Highlights of the report include Piedmont’s aims to utilise modern technologies and practices, including the innovative Metso alkaline pressure leaching process for refining spodumene concentrate, to mitigate climate and environmental impacts.
The company is also focusing on responsible water use and management strategies with the aim of minimising consumption while ensuring robust treatment, monitoring, and mitigation.
At the Carolina Lithium project, Piedmont is incorporating a progressive reclamation strategy for responsible land use, including plans to reclaim land impacted by mining activities as soon as practical to restore and prepare the site for post- operational use.
The company is also designing strategies for modern mining practices and the use of state-of-the-art technologies to minimise noise and vibration impact for its Carolina Lithium project neighbours.
Piedmont said it also aims to include civic investments in the communities where it plans to operate to help ensure long-term socio-economic development.
It is also investigating the economic impact, job creation potential and related workforce development activities expected to be generated by its proposed operations at Carolina Lithium and Tennessee Lithium.
Carolina Lithium plans
Located in Gaston County, North Carolina, the Carolina Lithium project is being designed to be one of the world’s most sustainable lithium hydroxide operations.
Containing estimated reserves of 18.3 million tonnes at 1.10% lithium oxide, the company is targeting production of around 30,000 tonnes per year (tpy) of lithium hydroxide and 242,000 tpy of spodumene concentrate.
The project is currently in the project design and financing investigation phase as part of final investment decision (FID) studies.
The company is targeting the receipt of necessary permits and approvals this year prior to the commencement of construction in 2024/25, leading to the start-up of the production of spodumene concentrate and lithium hydroxide in 2026/27.
Tennessee Lithium progress
The Tennessee Lithium project is also currently undergoing FEED and financing studies with Piedmont aiming for a construction start-up in late 2024.
The project is being designed to produce approximately 30,000 tpy of lithium hydroxide – double the amount of lithium hydroxide currently being produced in the United States.
An offtake agreement from Atlantic Lithium’s project in Ghana is expected to bring spodumene concentrate to the United States for production and conversion to lithium hydroxide at Tennessee Lithium.