Lithium extraction scheme goes to planners
Weardale Lithium was the first company to successfully extract lithium from the groundwaters in the North Pennine Orefield
By Bill Edgar, Local Democracy Reporter
Plans for the phased construction of a lithium extraction plant in County Durham are set to be approved.
The Weardale Lithium facility would be located on the brownfield, former cement works at Eastgate, near Stanhope, for processing geothermal groundwater from existing deep, high-specification, production wells nearby.
The Eastgate site has been dormant for more than 20 years since the closure of the cement works.
The application identifies four constituent parts to the proposals:
The existing groundwater abstraction wells
A new below and above-ground pipeline corridor to take water abstracted from the existing wells to the existing gantry over the River Wear.
A pipeline gantry across the River Wear using the former conveyor gantry bridge that previously linked the Eastgate Quarry with the former Weardale Cement Works site.
The construction of a pilot Lithium processing plant on the former Weardale Cement Works site in two phases.
The application has been amended since its original submission in response to consultation responses and operational changes to the site layout.
It now details plans for temporary development but with permanent planning permission sought for the pipeline routes. Below-ground structures would remain in place and require further consent for future use.
Meanwhile, the duration of the development was reduced from permanent permission to permission sought for 15 years for the pilot plant. In December 2024 it was confirmed that all above-ground structures would be removed at the end of the development.
It is estimated the scheme will create hundreds of jobs over its lifetime.
The applicant said the scheme represents a significant opportunity for the regeneration of the Eastgate site with the development of a local high-technology treatment facility to process lithium brine mineral resources found in deep groundwaters within Weardale.
It follows more than three years of work in the area including trialling multiple Direct Lithium Extraction technologies to find the optimal way to extract lithium from the geothermal groundwaters.
Weardale Lithium added: “The scheme will deliver significant economic investment and jobs directly into Weardale as well as supporting long-term growth and development aspirations for the battery industry more widely within the North East region and the UK.
“It’s important to note that from the beginning of the Eastgate project, even in the Field Trials phase, Weardale Lithium are going to produce battery grade Lithium Carbonate. This is a saleable end-product that can be directly used by the manufacturers of cathode active material, a core component of battery manufacture.
“The regeneration of the Eastgate cement works site that will be achieved through this application has the potential to have a significant positive impact on Weardale and the wider region. The proposals have strong public support and have demonstrated that it will not result in any unacceptable environmental impacts.”
Durham County Council’s planning committee will vote on the application on Wednesday (February 5).
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