Sibanye-Stillwater’s Keliber lithium project aims to be among the first in Europe to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide utilising its own ore at Central Ostrobothnia. Keliber is a subsidiary of Sibanye-Stillwater, a multinational mining and metals processing Group (www.sibanyestillwater.com), with Finnish Minerals Group as the second largest shareholder, a state-owned company developing the value chain of lithium-ion batteries. The expected future production is an essential component in lithium-ion batteries, which enable the electrification of transportation, the storage of renewable energy and speed up digitalisation. The ore will be processed at the planned concentrator plant in Kaustinen, near the main mining areas, and then refined into lithium hydroxide at the future Keliber lithium refinery. When the Keliber project moves into operational phase, we plan to utilise the best available technologies, minimise the environmental impact of our operations and ensure the conditions necessary for the circular economy. The construction phase is estimated to employ up to 500 people which steady state employees estimated to be about 200 industry professionals, and almost 100 will be employed through contractors.
