Cornish Lithium using old mining drawings and maps

The company has used old mining drawings and information to map sites across the county where its two methods for lithium extraction can be carried out. The material – most of which is well over 150 years old and has been turned into 3D info – has helped plot 700 data points across Cornwall.

The mining maps, which have come from private collectors and local landowning estates, have been digitised and will become part of the public collection at Redruth’s Kresen Kernow, home to the world’s biggest collection of archive material related to Cornwall.

'Mining renaissance'

Cornish Lithium is creating a modern-day renaissance of Cornwall’s ancient mining heritage by building a secure domestic supply of lithium against the backdrop of a global shortage of the critical metal, which is used in batteries for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage, as well as in the everyday electronic devices such as mobile phones on which so many of us rely.

By 2030, the UK is expected to require around 80,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) for electric car batteries and Cornish Lithium expects to supply over 10 per cent of that from its Trelavour Hard Rock Project, near St Dennis, with its Lithium in Geothermal Waters (LiGW) projects across Cornwall providing additional material.

Every tonne of lithium supplied by Cornish Lithium is one tonne less that the UK needs to import from overseas, cutting the carbon footprint of lithium needed for domestic battery manufacturing and strengthening the car manufacturing supply chain.

Using that combination of historic mining information and contemporary data from satellites, Cornish Lithium has identified rich lithium deposits beneath the surface of the Duchy.

Cornish Lithium\'s Cross Lanes exploration site near United Downs (Pic: Bailey Partnership)

“A responsible domestic supply of lithium will help to establish a battery industry in the UK, which is fundamental to support the UK automotive industry’s shift to manufacturing electric vehicles and is expected to be a key catalyst in the resurgence of Cornwall’s 4,000-year mining heritage,” said Mike Round, head of Geothermal Lithium at Cornish Lithium.

“It is also used in laptops and smartphones as well as in energy storage batteries utilised alongside renewable energy projects.”

He added: “We have already created more than 75 highly skilled, well-paid jobs in Cornwall and with the success of projects like this, we hope to create further career opportunities for local people in the future. This exploration project could be an important step towards achieving that aim and we look forward to sharing our plans with local residents and businesses.”

How it's extracted

Cornish Lithium aims to commercially develop two methods for responsible lithium extraction. One is using Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology to extract lithium from geothermal waters deep beneath the surface of Cornwall, with heat as a by-product. The second method extracts lithium from hard rock at a repurposed china clay pit at Trelavour Downs.

This method will have a significantly lower carbon footprint compared to other hard rock lithium extraction processes used elsewhere in the world and aims to have planning permissions in place by mid 2025 to provide a commercial supply of lithium from 2027.

Drop in event

As part of its ongoing commitment to proactive community engagement, the company held a presentation event last September and hosts regular informal community drop-in sessions at ClayTAWC in St Dennis, with the next taking place on Saturday, March 16.

Alongside the hard rock method, Cornish Lithium has established that lithium-enriched geothermal waters circulate naturally within the permeable geological structures underneath parts of Cornwall, having successfully drilled and tested an exploration borehole at Cross Lanes near the former mining hub of United Downs last year.

The company now plans to move to the next stage of development by drilling boreholes and installing a geothermal lithium production plant in a field at this location. We visited the site with a team from the company, who advised us that the plant will barely be seen or heard.

A bird's eye view

Cornish Lithium plans to selectively extract lithium from the geothermal waters using environmentally responsible DLE technologies to demonstrate the viability of commercial lithium extraction. Local people will be able to learn more at community drop-in sessions at the Methodist Church Rooms in Twelveheads between 3pm and 5pm on Tuesday, March 5, Tuesday, March 19 and Tuesday, April 2.

The next big project

Cornish Lithium has also just announced details of its next Lithium in Geothermal Waters Project at a proposed site near Tolgus in Redruth.

Having completed the required site surveys, the next phase of the process is to apply for a temporary six-month General Permitted Development Order (GPDO) from Cornwall Council, as well as the necessary permits from the Environment Agency, for the relevant permissions to drill an initial research borehole of around 10cm (four inches) in diameter to a depth of 2,000m (6,561 feet) at the site and test the lithium potential of the geothermal waters that flow through its underlying permeable geological structures.

If the relevant permissions are granted, a six-month drilling programme would start this spring, using the same drill rig as previously used at the other exploration sites in Cornwall, such as Blackwater and Twelveheads. The rig would be approximately 12m in height and acoustic screening would be installed to minimise noise and visual impacts, which has already proved successful.

The company is inviting local people to attend a drop-in information session at Tricky’s @ The Tolgus Inn, Tolgus Mount, Redruth on Wednesday, March 13 between 3pm and 5pm.

How's it's being funded

Funding for the projects started with an initial £53.6 million investment in 2023 from a group of leading institutional investors, led by the UK Infrastructure Bank, which is owned by the UK government, alongside the Energy & Minerals Group (EMG) and existing shareholder, TechMet.

Local people have also invested in the company through crowdfunding campaigns to support the potential renaissance of Cornwall’s mining industry.

A spokesperson for Cornish Lithium said: “The company believes that consulting with and listening to local people is key to how the business operates. This goes hand in hand with a passionate and proactive approach to protecting, enhancing and supporting Cornwall through social and environmental initiatives.”

As well as supporting the UK’s energy transition to Net Zero, the company aims to build its Cornwall-based workforce to over 300 and make a positive difference to some of Cornwall’s most socially deprived communities.

The company has established a community fund in collaboration with the Cornwall Community Foundation which supports the work of clubs, charities and activity groups who seek to make a positive difference in the Gwennap, Blackwater, Chacewater, St Day, Carharrack and china clay areas.