Allkem

Allkem was an Australian mining and lithium-materials company that operated across brine, hard-rock and downstream lithium businesses. It was created in 2021 when Orocobre Limited combined with Galaxy Resources, bringing together Orocobre’s Argentine lithium-brine operations and borate business with Galaxy’s hard-rock lithium assets and development projects. The resulting company became one of the more geographically diversified lithium producers listed in Australia, with activities spanning Argentina, Australia, Canada and Japan. The company’s most important operating asset was the Olaroz lithium facility in Jujuy Province, northwestern Argentina. Olaroz extracts lithium-bearing brine from the Salar de Olaroz and produces battery-grade lithium carbonate. The project was developed through a joint venture involving Orocobre and Toyota Tsusho Corporation, with participation from Jujuy Energía y Minería Sociedad del Estado. The operation was designed around a substantial brine resource and a long projected mine life, and it formed the foundation of Allkem’s lithium-chemical business. Allkem also operated the Mt Cattlin open-pit hard-rock lithium mine and concentrator near Ravensthorpe in Western Australia. Mining at Mt Cattlin restarted in 2016, and the site produced spodumene concentrate, a feedstock used to manufacture lithium chemicals. The asset gave Allkem exposure to a different part of the lithium supply chain from its Argentine brine operations and provided operating experience relevant to other hard-rock projects. The company’s downstream portfolio included the Naraha Lithium Hydroxide Plant in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Developed through the Toyotsu Lithium Corporation joint venture with Toyota Tsusho, the facility was designed to convert lithium carbonate feedstock, primarily supplied from Olaroz, into purified battery-grade lithium hydroxide. Naraha was described as Japan’s first plant of its type and represented Allkem’s effort to participate beyond the extraction and primary-processing stages of the battery-materials chain. Allkem also held a portfolio of development-stage projects. Sal de Vida, in Argentina’s Catamarca Province on the Salar del Hombre Muerto, was intended to become a large-scale brine-lithium operation producing battery-grade lithium carbonate. The James Bay project in northern Quebec was planned as a sustainable hard-rock lithium mine, with development concepts emphasizing renewable energy and the application of operating knowledge gained at Mt Cattlin. The company also maintained interests connected with the Cauchari lithium-potash resource near Olaroz. Although lithium was the company’s defining business, its inherited portfolio included Borax Argentina, an Argentine producer of boron minerals and refined borate chemicals. Borax Argentina operated mines and processing facilities in northern Argentina and supplied products including boric acid and several forms of borax. Allkem completed the sale of that business in December 2022, sharpening its focus on lithium. In May 2023, Allkem agreed to combine with Livent, a United States-based lithium chemicals producer. The transaction was completed in January 2024 and created Arcadium Lithium. As a result, Allkem ceased to operate as an independent corporate and listed entity, while its assets, projects and employees became part of the new company. Allkem is therefore best understood as a predecessor lithium company rather than an active standalone brand.

Allkem Limited was established in 2021 through the combination of Orocobre Limited and Galaxy Resources. Orocobre had developed a lithium-brine business in Argentina, while Galaxy contributed hard-rock lithium assets and development projects in Australia and Canada. The transaction created a company with a mix of producing assets, conversion capacity and future growth projects rather than a single mine or processing route. Orocobre had previously advanced the Olaroz Lithium Project in Jujuy Province. The project is located on the Salar de Olaroz, a high-altitude salt lake near Argentina’s border with Chile. Orocobre entered into arrangements with Jujuy’s provincial mining-investment entity and Toyota Tsusho Corporation, with the latter becoming a key project and commercial partner. Olaroz was designed to recover lithium from brine and produce lithium carbonate, with the project’s feasibility work identifying a large resource base and a long potential operating life. It became Allkem’s principal lithium-brine operation. The company’s hard-rock production came from Mt Cattlin, an open-pit mine and concentrator near Ravensthorpe in Western Australia. Operations restarted there in late 2016, producing spodumene concentrate. Conventional mining and processing methods enabled Mt Cattlin to supply a raw material that could be converted into lithium chemicals further downstream. The asset also gave Allkem a practical operating platform for evaluating and developing other hard-rock resources. Allkem expanded its participation in the downstream supply chain through the Naraha Lithium Hydroxide Plant in Japan. The plant was developed by Toyotsu Lithium Corporation, in which Allkem held a 75 percent economic interest while Toyota Tsusho retained operational control. Naraha was designed to process approximately 9,500 tonnes per year of lithium-carbonate feedstock into purified battery-grade lithium hydroxide. Its planned feedstock connection with Olaroz illustrated Allkem’s strategy of linking Argentine brine production with Asian conversion and battery-materials markets. The company also pursued several development projects. Sal de Vida is located on the Salar del Hombre Muerto in Catamarca Province, Argentina, roughly 1,400 kilometres northwest of Buenos Aires and relatively close to Olaroz. Its brine chemistry was considered suitable for producing battery-grade lithium carbonate. In Quebec, Allkem proposed developing James Bay as a hard-rock lithium operation, with an emphasis on renewable power and sustainable development. The project was near the Cree Nation community of Eastmain and was positioned to serve North American and European electric-vehicle markets. The Cauchari resource, immediately south of Olaroz, offered a potentially complementary lithium-potash brine source for future regional expansion. The portfolio inherited from Orocobre also included Borax Argentina, a producer of boron minerals and refined borate chemicals. Its operations included open-pit mines at Tincalayu, Sijes and Porvenir in northern Argentina, together with products such as boric acid, borax and boroglas. Allkem sold Borax Argentina in December 2022 and acquired the María Victoria lithium tenement in the same period, a move consistent with a narrower strategic concentration on lithium. In May 2023, Allkem and Livent announced terms for a combination. Livent brought lithium-chemical production and conversion expertise, while Allkem contributed a broader resource and project portfolio. The transaction was completed in January 2024, creating Arcadium Lithium. Allkem consequently stopped being an independent listed company and became part of the new lithium group.

1. 2024Arcadium Lithium formed

   Allkem and Livent completed their merger, ending Allkem’s independent corporate and listed identity.

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2. 2023Merger agreement with Livent announced

   Allkem agreed to combine with Livent in a transaction designed to form a larger global lithium company.

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3. 2022Borax Argentina divested

   Allkem completed the sale of Borax Argentina and acquired the María Victoria lithium tenement.

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4. 2021Orocobre and Galaxy Resources combine

   The merger of Orocobre and Galaxy Resources created Allkem and combined Argentine brine, Australian hard-rock and Canadian development assets.

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5. 2016Mt Cattlin operations restart

   Mining and processing operations resumed at the Mt Cattlin hard-rock lithium operation in Western Australia.

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6. 2012Olaroz development arrangements established

   Orocobre entered into arrangements with Jujuy’s provincial mining entity and Toyota Tsusho to advance the Olaroz lithium-brine project.

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An internationally oriented lithium-resources and lithium-chemicals company serving the battery-materials supply chain through brine production, hard-rock mining and downstream conversion.

• Lithium carbonateLithium chemicals

  Battery-grade lithium carbonate was produced through Allkem’s Olaroz brine operation in Argentina. The product connected the company’s salar resources with cathode-material and broader lithium-ion battery supply chains. Olaroz was the central chemical-production asset in Allkem’s portfolio.

• Spodumene concentrateHard-rock lithium product2016

  Mt Cattlin in Western Australia produced spodumene concentrate from an open-pit mine and concentrator. The concentrate is an upstream lithium feedstock that can be converted into lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide by downstream processors.

• Lithium hydroxideLithium chemicals

  The Naraha Lithium Hydroxide Plant in Japan was designed to convert lithium carbonate feedstock into purified battery-grade lithium hydroxide. The facility was operated through Toyotsu Lithium Corporation, a joint venture with Toyota Tsusho.

• Borate chemicalsIndustrial minerals and chemicals

  Before its 2022 divestment of Borax Argentina, Allkem was associated with boric acid, borax decahydrate, borax pentahydrate, anhydrous borax, boroglas and mineral concentrates produced from Argentine borate resources.

• 2023Combination with LiventM&A

  The proposed transaction sought to combine Allkem’s geographically diverse lithium resources and projects with Livent’s lithium-chemicals capabilities.

  What changed. Allkem agreed terms with Livent for a merger that was completed in January 2024.

  Aftermath. The combination created Arcadium Lithium and ended Allkem’s operation as an independent listed company.

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• 2022Divestment of Borax ArgentinaStrategy

  Allkem’s principal growth identity was increasingly centered on lithium resources, lithium chemicals and battery-material markets.

  What changed. The company sold Borax Argentina to Golden Wattle Springs and acquired the María Victoria lithium tenement from Minera Santa Rita.

  Aftermath. The transaction reduced Allkem’s exposure to borate minerals and reinforced its strategic focus on lithium.

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• 2024Allkem and Livent complete merger to form Arcadium Lithium

  The merger between Allkem and Livent was completed, ending Allkem’s existence as an independent company and creating Arcadium Lithium.

  M&A
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• 2023Allkem and Livent agree to combine

  Allkem and Livent announced an agreement to merge in a transaction intended to create a larger global lithium producer spanning resource extraction and lithium chemicals.

  M&A
  Source
• 2022Allkem sells Borax Argentina

  Allkem completed the sale of its Argentine borate-minerals and chemicals subsidiary Borax Argentina to Golden Wattle Springs and acquired the María Victoria lithium tenement from Minera Santa Rita.

  M&A
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1. Allkem