Galaxy Resources’ Jiangsu lithium carbonate plant is a greenfield development near Shanghai, China. The plant will produce 17,000 tonnes per annum of
EV-grade lithium carbonate (99.9%) from spodumene concentrate shipped from Galaxy's operations near Ravensthorpe, Western Australia. The facility will also provide the capability to produce EV plusgrade
lithium carbonate (99.99%) for specialist lithium ion battery uses.

When the plant attains full production, Galaxy will be the fourth largest global producer of lithium carbonate, the largest producer in China and the only significant global producer of EV and EV plus grades of lithium carbonate for the lithium ion battery market, ready to meet the growing demand for smaller, higher power and energy-density batteries for electric vehicles.

Scope of Services
Hatch is providing full EPCM services to Galaxy for the Jiangsu Project. Hatch has acted as a trusted advisor and engineer to Galaxy as they have moved from an exploration company to one now commissioning a spodumene concentrator in Australia and constructing the lithium carbonate plant in Jiangsu.

In February 2009, Hatch reviewed a prefeasibility study for Galaxy and consequently undertook a definitive feasibility study for Galaxy, followed by interim engineering prior to the award of the EPCM contract in November 2009.

Hatch was also contracted to scope, supervise and actively participate in testwork to determine design criteria for the Jiangsu plant. This testwork was undertaken at four facilities, was done concurrently with the engineering, and the results were incorporated into the project during the interim engineering phase. As Galaxy’s desire, based on their market research, to be the world leader in very high quality lithium carbonate for lithium ion batteries has evolved, Hatch has developed and engineered the most appropriate technology, allowing the maximum degree of plant flexibility to meet customer quality demands.

Hatch has taken what is now tightly-held small-scale batch technology by other producers and worked with the Galaxy team to provide a large, fully continuous plant that will be capable of producing the best quality battery-grade lithium carbonate in the world.

To support Galaxy to achieve its goals, Hatch has also been providing operational readiness support for the plant and has been invited to assist the Galaxy team in hot commissioning planning and implementation.

Project Highlights

• The project has moved from a prefeasibility study to a plant under construction on a greenfield site in less than 12 months
• Testwork was undertaken throughout the feasibility study and the early stages of project implementation. Hatch’s testwork and engineering focus was on securing information to place orders for long-lead equipment items and to allow site works to commence. The focus at any point in time was adapted as market intelligence shaped the required product quality. All critical path equipment and supply contracts have been placed
• In order to meet the aggressive schedule desired by Galaxy, Hatch brought the basic design for some key long-lead equipment items in-house, such as that for the kiln, coolers and dryer designs. Additionally, as autoclave options to vary the lithium carbonate quality were explored, the Hatch Autoclave Technology Group were engaged for testwork scoping and review
• While the plant is small by many standards, it is required to produce a product of an almost pharmaceutical grade, using a continuous, integrated pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical process and commencing processing with a mineral concentrate. Hatch selected appropriate materials of construction for Galaxy based on the process chemistry and the quality of the concentrate and reagent supplies. While the process itself contains many unit operations, Hatch has minimized the risks associated with this new plant by choosing robust equipment and selecting reputable international vendors for the supply of key equipment items. This should lead to faster equipment installation, a more
  productive plant with better surety of equipment quality and consequently lower maintenance costs. In non-key areas, Chinese supply has been sought to minimize the project cost
• The Jiangsu lithium carbonate project required Hatch to assemble a delivery team that was constantly cognisant of Galaxy’s schedule and could adapt quickly and effectively to changes arising from market intelligence or laboratory testwork. Trust and constant open communication with Galaxy has allowed fast decision making and the early removal of any potential roadblocks. Knowledge held by either party was shared quickly and efficiently, ensuring that both Hatch and Galaxy put all of their best ideas and information forward for consideration.

Project Safety
By the end of August 2010 approximately 145,000 hours had been worked without any lost-time injuries, medically treated injuries or incidents. This includes 93,000 contractor hours worked on-site. A site safety audit schedule is in place and has contributed very positively to the safety record.