Weardale signs MoU to supply battery chain hub

Weardale Lithium Ltd has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to supply a battery chain hub in the North East of England.

PARTNERSHIP

The County Durham-based company is developing a potential domestic resource of sustainable “green” lithium from naturally occurring geothermal brines.

The MoU is with Tees Valley Lithium Ltd (TVL) for refining lithium at Wilton International Chemicals Park in Teesside.

Weardale chief executive Stewart Dickson said that the partnership was another important step in developing an integrated and coherent supply of lithium in the region.

GRANT

The news follows the award in June of a £670,000 grant to the company for exploration and development activities resulting in a feasibility study and investment-ready business case.

Weardale hopes to extract lithium from geothermal brines in two existing boreholes in the hamlet of Eastgate in Weardale Valleywhich was once home to a limestone quarry.

The funding comes from the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC)’s automotive transformation fund feasibility studies (ATF FS3).

Established in 2020, Weardale signed agreements for exclusive access to the two boreholes developed in 2004 and 2007 by a consortium led by the University of Newcastle.

The company’s website states that both have been drilled and high levels of lithium identified in the underground brines.

WEARDALE

Historical extraction of natural resources in Weardale has included lead, silver, fluorspar and ironstone. Ganister (hard sandstone), dolerite (whinstone, basalt) and limestone were also quarried.