Piedmont Lithium receives preliminary state mining permit, but production still years away

State regulators have approved an application for the controversial Piedmont Lithium mine in Gaston County, but the company is still months, if not years before production will begin.

Piedmont Lithium owns 3,600 acres near Cherryville, about half of which the company plans to mine for spodumene, an important mineral for extracting lithium. Piedmont will then convert the material to lithium hydroxide, a key component of electric vehicle batteries, at a plant onsite. The company plans to start mining in 2025.

“We look forward to continued engagement with the local community and the Gaston County Board of Commissioners,” Piedmont Lithium CEO and President Keith Phillips said in a prepared statement. We have had extensive and ongoing dialogue with possible funding sources for Carolina Lithium” — including the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office.

The state permit, signed by the Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources, won’t go into effect until the company posts a $1 million bond.

In addition, Piedmont is seeking a rezoning from the Gaston County Commissioners — not a given considering the skepticism from its members, Newsline previously reported.

Commissioner Chad Brown told Reuters that discussions about a rezoning would not occur until July, at the earliest, because the county is undertaking its annual budget decisions. At a county commission meeting last August, Brown said the project “is based on a lot of promises.”

Even if the Commission grants a rezoning, Piedmont would also have to secure air, water and stormwater permits from the state.

There has been strong local opposition to Piedmont project for at least three years, when the company began negotiating with nearby landowners to buy property. Concerned residents fear their drinking water wells will become polluted, run dry, or both. They are concerned about the noise, light, blasting, dust, the permanent corruption of the landscape, the risk of fire, especially if lithium hydroxide comes into contact with water.

The state permit requires Piedmont to monitor both groundwater and surface water. If water levels decrease in private drinking water wells — which can happen when mining companies pump water out of their excavation pits — Piedmont is required to immediately stop dewatering and “rectify any adverse impacts.”

The permit lays out other requirements, such as the construction of sound barriers and management of overburden — the leftover, unused rock from the mine. Piedmont must begin restoring parts of the mine, known as reclamation, immediately after finishing each section.

The mining permit is effective for the life of the operation. In 2017, the state legislature amended the mining law, removing the requirement for companies to periodically renew their applications.  The changes applied to both existing and future mines.