Lithium exploration company presenting to Gaston commissioners Tuesday
A company that wishes to build a lithium mining and production campus east of Cherryville will present during the Gaston County commissioners meeting Tuesday.
Piedmont Lithium, which has roughly two dozen employees in downtown Belmont, has explored parts of rural northwest Gaston County since 2016. Gaston County sits on an alleged lithium-rich belt, known as the Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt, which stretches from Lincolnton down to Gaffney, South Carolina.
Company leaders met with folks who live near their proposed mining site earlier this month, though this will be Piedmont Lithium’s first known public meeting.
As of June, Piedmont Lithium’s proposed site – which includes open-pit mines, a chemical processing plant and mineral concentrator – was expected to span nearly 2,700 acres of surface property, according to the company. Piedmont Lithium controlled about 3,000 acres as of June, which includes acquired property, lease-to-own agreements and exclusive option agreements.
Workers on the site would handle primarily mica, quartz and feldspar, while lithium products – lithium hydroxide and spodumene concentrate – would make up little of Piedmont Lithium’s annual production, according to the company’s June report. Company leaders have said including the three co-products of the site will help reduce waste.
At least three key decisions will determine whether or not Piedmont Lithium will mine and produce any products in Gaston County.
Gaston County commissioners must approve a rezoning application to be filed by Piedmont Lithium. Commissioners will not make any decisions following the company’s presentation on Tuesday. As of June, Piedmont Lithium hadn’t applied to rezone the proposed mining land.
Piedmont Lithium needs a mining permit from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and Land Resources. State environmental leaders will be responsible for reviewing Piedmont Lithium’s plans and making a decision. Piedmont Lithium had not applied for the state mining permit as of June, according to company leaders.
Piedmont Lithium must receive a Title V air quality permit from the state for the proposed lithium processing plant on the site in northwest Gaston County. Under the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires companies, who could potentially release air pollutants, to earn the permit before operating. Piedmont Lithium received the permit for a proposed chemical operation in Kings Mountain, though the company no longer plans to build the plant there.
Tuesday’s meeting, located at 325 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Gastonia, will also include a public comment period. The meeting begins at 6 p.m.
