Kings Mountain Lithium Mine by Albemarle: status and timeline

Milestones

Next · Mine and processing plant operational

Federal FAST-41 permitting completed30 Mar 2026Complete.
DoD critical materials award received12 Sep 2023Complete.
Mine and processing plant operationalTarget 2027+3 mo~~originally Q4 2026~~Not yet reached.
Reach 50 kt LCE annual productionTarget 2028Not yet reached.

Most important updates

Kings Mountain lithium mine completes federal FAST-41 permitting30 Mar 2026
US Department of Defense awards Albemarle $90 million to support Kings Mountain lithium mine equipment and reopening12 Sep 2023

Upcoming

2027Mine and processing plant operational+3 mo~~originally Q4 2026~~ (next)
2028Reach 50 kt LCE annual production

Current obstacles

Price volatilityPermitting is done; low prices delay financing and offtake-agreement locks.
Processing footprintHard-rock processing is energy-intensive. Permitting for waste disposal is ongoing.
Geopolitical riskUS domestic supply de-risks vs. foreign alternatives but costs more per ton.

Physics limits

Plant capexLithium refinery capex is $500M–$1B; Kings Mountain's plant is a major cost hurdle.
Recovery rateFlotation and leaching recover 70–90%; 10–30% ore lithium is lost in tails.
Energy intensityRoasting and leaching are power-hungry; energy cost is a big unit-economics driver.

How it works

3 parts

Mining

Open-pit spodumene

Ore is crushed and concentrated via flotation from ~1% to 6-7% lithium oxide.

Roasting

Heat conversion

Roasted ore is chemically converted to a form leachable with sulfuric acid.

Leaching

Lithium extraction

Acid leaching dissolves lithium; precipitation yields carbonate or hydroxide.

Spec sheet

Spec	Kings Mountain Lithium Mine
Annual LCE capacity	50 kt LCE^R (reported)
EV manufacturing supported	~1.2M vehicles/year^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Update log

2 updates

Mon 30 Mar

Major: Kings Mountain lithium mine completes federal FAST-41 permittingPressRegulatory

Tue 12 Sep 2023

Major: US Department of Defense awards Albemarle $90 million to support Kings Mountain lithium mine equipment and reopeningPressFunding

About Albemarle

The team behind Kings Mountain Lithium Mine

Albemarle

Lithium producer, Kings Mountain mine, critical minerals

Albemarle is the world's largest lithium producer. It operates integrated mining and processing across Chile, Australia, the US, and China. In 2026, Albemarle completed federal permitting for Kings Mountain, a hard-rock lithium mine in North Carolina.

Founded in 1887; acquired Ethyl in 1962 and spun off as Albemarle in 1994.
Operates salt-brine and hard-rock lithium mining and refining on three continents.
Kings Mountain mine will produce 50 kt LCE annually, supporting ~1.2M electric vehicles.

albemarle.com (opens albemarle.com)Company profile →

Founded: 1887139 yrs
Headquarters: United States
Status: Public
Valuation: $14Bmarket capAug 2026
Staff: ~8,300Jan 2024
Works in: MaterialsLithium & critical minerals
Coverage: 1 program · 2 updateslatest 30 Mar 2026checked 11 Oct
Customers: Electric vehicle manufacturers (opens albemarle.com)
Partners: US Department of Defense (opens defense.gov)
People: Kent Masters (opens albemarle.com)Chairman, President & CEO

Spec

Kings Mountain Lithium Mine

Annual LCE capacity

50 kt LCE^R (reported)

EV manufacturing supported

~1.2M vehicles/year^R (reported)