Cornish Lithium

Cornish Lithium is a United Kingdom mineral exploration and development company focused on establishing a domestic lithium supply chain in Cornwall. Founded by Jeremy Wrathall in 2016, the company is pursuing two principal resource-development approaches: recovering lithium from geothermal waters through direct lithium extraction and exploring lithium-bearing hard rock at Trelavour Downs near St Dennis. The company’s geothermal strategy is linked to the United Downs Deep Geothermal Power Project near Redruth. Cornish Lithium has described the associated geothermal brine as potentially attractive for lithium recovery because of its reported lithium concentration of approximately 220 milligrams per litre, relatively low magnesium content of below 5 milligrams per litre, total dissolved solids of below 29 grams per litre, and reported flow rates of roughly 40 to 60 litres per second. These characteristics are relevant because selective extraction from geothermal waters could reduce the need for conventional open-pit or underground mining, although commercial viability depends on process performance, permitting, infrastructure, financing and the ability to scale the technology. Cornish Lithium has been developing the GeoCubed pilot plant, which is intended to test direct lithium extraction from geothermal waters. The project has received backing from the UK Government’s Getting Building Fund and is positioned as part of wider efforts to strengthen domestic supplies of materials considered important to the energy transition, including lithium for rechargeable batteries and electric vehicles. Alongside its geothermal work, the company is advancing the Trelavour Downs hard-rock exploration project. This project targets lithium-bearing mineralisation in Cornwall and represents a more conventional resource pathway than the geothermal-brine approach. The combination of brine extraction and hard-rock exploration gives Cornish Lithium a diversified technical and geological strategy, while also exposing it to the different engineering, environmental, permitting and capital requirements associated with each route. In August 2023, Cornish Lithium announced an initial investment of £53.6 million from institutional investors. The investment was led by the UK Infrastructure Bank alongside The Energy & Minerals Group and TechMet. The financing was presented as support for the company’s continued development of its lithium projects and extraction technologies. Cornish Lithium’s positioning is therefore centred on locally sourced, lower-carbon and technologically differentiated lithium production in the United Kingdom. It is not primarily a consumer-facing product brand; its activities are those of a mineral exploration, project-development and potential battery-materials producer. As of the available reference material, the company remained in the exploration, pilot and development phase rather than being identified as a mature commercial lithium producer.

Cornish Lithium was founded in Cornwall in 2016 by Jeremy Wrathall. From its formation, the company concentrated on the possibility of developing a local lithium industry in a region with a long mining history but no established large-scale lithium production. Its projects are intended to respond to the growing demand for lithium used in rechargeable batteries, while reducing reliance on imported raw materials. The company developed a two-track exploration and development model. The first track focuses on geothermal waters associated with the United Downs Deep Geothermal Power Project near Redruth. Rather than treating the geothermal fluid only as a source of heat, Cornish Lithium has pursued the recovery of dissolved lithium from the brine. The company has reported a lithium concentration of approximately 220 milligrams per litre, low magnesium of less than 5 milligrams per litre, total dissolved solids of less than 29 grams per litre, and flow rates of around 40 to 60 litres per second. These reported characteristics form the technical rationale for investigating direct lithium extraction. Direct lithium extraction involves selectively removing lithium from a brine stream and returning or further processing the remaining fluid. Cornish Lithium’s GeoCubed pilot plant was designed to evaluate this approach at the United Downs site. The pilot is backed by the UK Government’s Getting Building Fund, reflecting public interest in domestic critical-mineral supply and the potential relationship between geothermal energy and lithium production. The pilot-stage work is important because laboratory or resource indications alone do not establish commercial production; performance at scale, reagent use, water management, reinjection, product quality, operating costs and regulatory compliance all affect the eventual outcome. The second track is the Trelavour Downs project near St Dennis in Cornwall. This is a hard-rock exploration project targeting lithium-bearing mineralisation. It provides the company with an alternative resource base and a conventional mining route alongside its geothermal-brine technology. The two approaches have different development profiles: geothermal extraction depends heavily on wells, fluid chemistry and separation technology, while hard-rock development depends on geology, mine design, processing, land use and environmental approvals. Cornish Lithium’s development attracted further institutional support in August 2023, when the company announced an initial investment of £53.6 million. The investment was led by the UK Infrastructure Bank, alongside The Energy & Minerals Group and TechMet. This financing represented a significant step in funding the company’s projects and technology development, although the available reference material does not establish that it marked the beginning of commercial-scale production. The company’s history remains principally a development story rather than one of established consumer-market operations. Its activities centre on exploration, pilot processing, project financing and the evaluation of routes to future lithium production in Cornwall. Cornish Lithium’s broader significance lies in its attempt to connect a regional mining heritage with the modern battery-materials economy and UK industrial strategy. Its ultimate commercial status depends on the results of ongoing technical work, resource definition, permitting, financing and construction.

• 2023

  Institutional investment announced

  [1]Cornish Lithiumen.wikipedia.org

  Cornish Lithium announced an initial £53.6 million investment led by the UK Infrastructure Bank, with The Energy & Minerals Group and TechMet also participating.

• 2016

  Cornish Lithium founded

  [1]Cornish Lithiumen.wikipedia.org

  Jeremy Wrathall founded Cornish Lithium in Cornwall as a mineral exploration and development company focused on domestic lithium resources.

• GeoCubed pilot project developed

  [1]Cornish Lithiumen.wikipedia.org

  The company developed the GeoCubed pilot plant to investigate direct lithium extraction from geothermal waters at the United Downs Deep Geothermal Power Project near Redruth.

• Trelavour Downs hard-rock project advanced

  [1]Cornish Lithiumen.wikipedia.org

  Cornish Lithium pursued hard-rock lithium exploration at Trelavour Downs near St Dennis in Cornwall.

A UK-focused lithium exploration and development company pursuing domestic battery-materials production through geothermal direct lithium extraction and hard-rock exploration in Cornwall.

• Direct lithium extraction pilot

  GeoCubed pilot plant

  GeoCubed is a pilot-scale facility intended to test the recovery of lithium from geothermal waters using direct lithium extraction technology. It is associated with the United Downs Deep Geothermal Power Project near Redruth. The facility represents a technology-validation and process-development asset rather than a conventional consumer product, with its purpose being to assess whether lithium can be selectively recovered from Cornwall’s geothermal brines.

• Geothermal lithium resource project

  United Downs geothermal lithium project

  This project targets dissolved lithium in geothermal brines at the United Downs Deep Geothermal Power Project. Cornish Lithium has highlighted the reported lithium concentration, relatively low magnesium content, total dissolved solids and flow characteristics of the brine as reasons for investigating extraction. The project combines geothermal-resource development with battery-materials production objectives.

• Hard-rock lithium exploration project

  Trelavour Downs

  Trelavour Downs is a hard-rock exploration project near St Dennis in Cornwall. It targets lithium-bearing mineralisation and provides Cornish Lithium with a resource-development route separate from geothermal-brine extraction. The project remains part of the company’s exploration and development portfolio rather than an identified mass-market product line.

• 2023

  Institutional financing securedOther

  Background

  The company required capital to continue developing its lithium projects and extraction technology.

  Action taken

  Cornish Lithium announced an initial £53.6 million investment from institutional investors led by the UK Infrastructure Bank, alongside The Energy & Minerals Group and TechMet.

  Aftermath

  The investment strengthened funding for continued project and technology development. The available reference does not establish commercial production or a final investment decision.

  Initial institutional investment. £53.6 million (August 2023 announcement)

  Source

• Pursuit of dual geothermal and hard-rock lithium developmentStrategy

  Background

  Cornish Lithium developed both a geothermal-brine strategy and a hard-rock exploration strategy in Cornwall.

  Action taken

  The company advanced direct lithium extraction work at United Downs while also exploring lithium-bearing hard rock at Trelavour Downs.

  Aftermath

  The dual approach diversified the company’s potential resource base and technical routes, but required separate solutions for geothermal processing, mining, permitting and infrastructure.

  Source

• 2023

  Cornish Lithium announces £53.6 million institutional investment[1]Cornish Lithiumen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Cornish Lithium announced an initial £53.6 million investment from institutional investors led by the UK Infrastructure Bank, with participation from The Energy & Minerals Group and TechMet.

• Cornish Lithium develops GeoCubed geothermal lithium pilot[1]Cornish Lithiumen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch · Other

  The company has been developing the GeoCubed pilot plant to test direct lithium extraction from geothermal waters at the United Downs Deep Geothermal Power Project near Redruth.

1. 1Cornish Lithiumen.wikipedia.org