Tianqi Lithium, a joint venture between Talison Lithium and US miner Albermarle Corporation, is Australia’s first fully automated lithium hydroxide processing plant. WA’s first battery-grade lithium hydroxide was produced in May 2022 at the company’s lithium hydroxide processing plant in the Kwinana Industrial Area, south of Perth, for supply to global customer producing rechargeable batteries for the electric vehicle and energy storage system industries.

The first stage of the facility, Train 1, was successfully commissioned in 2018, and construction of a second production train is slated to begin in the first half of 2023, with an early works program already underway. Hundreds of local jobs will be created during construction, and to house around 200-300 office and construction workers during the duration of the Train 2 construction meant that offices, cribbing facilities and amenities blocks were required. There were several key challenges, including limited site space, low fleet availability and unprecedented site accommodation demand issues. In addition, providing a cost-effective solution was a key requirement for our client due to stage 1 construction costs and expected delivery date blow-outs.

Our Approach

As a brownfields site, space was at a premium for the installation of site accommodation. To overcome the challenge, Onsite designed and built an open-plan office compound-style set-up that would suit the needs of internal and external key stakeholders. In total, Onsite has supplied 24 floors and four toilet blocks for the duration of the 18-month project.

Our Business Advantage

Onsite has a strong history with Tianqi Lithium and a proven track record, having successfully installed site accommodation for Stage 1 in 2017. It gave our client confidence that we could meet their requirements for the second stage, Train 2, and provide a tailored solution that would overcome the distinct challenges. In addition, being able to provide prompt technical expertise and solution solving for complex issues was a significant drawcard, as was our client having to deal with just one company to provide the solutions. And being able to finish on time and on budget was a crucial factor in our client’s decision making.