US company to expand WA refinery as 'every man and his dog' turns to lithium

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Amid projections of a 'bright' future for lithium, more and more companies are looking to expand their WA operations — including one of the world's biggest lithium companies, Albemarle, operating out of the state's South West.

Shire of Harvey President Paul Gillett said the region was ready for the expansion and keen to play a greater role in the production of batteries into the future."We certainly have a lot to offer. We've got the natural resources there. It seems fitting that we go from start to finish."

Union members raised concerns about safety during the initial build and commissioning of the Kemerton plant.During the initial build and commissioning of the Kemerton refinery, the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union raised allegations about after a handful of workers were taken to hospital as a precaution after potentially being exposed to harmful gas.AMWU state secretary Steve McCartney said while he welcomed the expansion going ahead he hoped the company had learnt from its mistakes."So hopefully with those guidelines that have been produced to fix problems … we won't have the same mistakes. That's what we're hoping is going to happen.

"Our members haven't raised any issues since, but they've raised a lot of concern about this job. Is this job going to be a safer job than the last round?"

 

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