Tianqi Lithium chief Frank Ha says he's open to acquiring IGO's stake in the flailing Kwinana lithium refinery and has no plans of shutting down the underperforming asset.
Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia has awarded an $11 million contract to local engineering firm SIMPEC after issuing an optimistic update on its Kwinana refinery.
The state government has committed up to $150 million to help the lithium industry but it comes months after several miners already scaled back their operations amid an unstable market.
Draft eligibility guidelines for the government's $13 billion critical minerals downstream production tax credits have opened the door for Chinese-owned producers.
Western Australia will lose its shine as a critical minerals jurisdiction if efforts aren't made to keep up with global trends, according to the head of Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia.
Tianqi Lithium and IGO have marked first production of battery-grade product from their Kwinana refinery, bringing the operation closer to full scale output.
Tianqi Lithium has lodged $39 million with the state's courts after a stay on payments to contractor MSP Engineering was granted, as Tianqi awaits an appeal over a March ruling.
