What lies beneath
- Jilly Easterby
- 8 minutes ago
- 7 min read
Words by Jilly Easterby
Heritage and high-tech converge to shape Cornwall’s industrial future.
A Cornish copper mine. A Victorian academic. A modern-day pioneer. The confluence of geology, history and chemistry. A global race to harness a vital natural resource. Cornwall’s moment to recapture the zeitgeist and revitalise its prospects for generations to come. This is a tale of discovery and opportunity, of geopolitics and national security. This is the story of Cornish Lithium and its quest to build a secure, domestic supply of the critical mineral that is changing our world.
This is not simply because lithium is a crucial component in the manufacture of electric vehicles (EVs), grid-scale electricity storage, rechargeable industrial batteries and battery-related defence applications. Or because it is needed for smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices on which so many of us depend. It is because worldwide demand is forecast to outstrip supply, resulting in a significant global shortage; because the UK imports 100% of the lithium it uses, and because Cornwall possesses the largest lithium deposit in Europe – enough to satiate more than half of the country’s EV industry needs. Crucially, this presents a transformational opportunity for Britain to control its own supply chain.
In 1864, Professor William Allen Miller of King’s College London discovered that hot spring waters deep beneath a Cornish copper mine contained a large amount of lithium, investing them ‘with unusual interest and importance.’ In a 19th-century world dominated by copper and tin, and driven by the might of a steam-powered industrial revolution, lithium was valued only by the medical profession for the treatment of certain ailments and to becalm troubled minds.
Professor Miller was, of course, wholly unaware that his discovery at the Wheal Clifford Mine near Redruth would unlock a new kind of industrial revolution and catalyse a bright new future for 21st-century Cornwall.
This mantle fell to a Camborne School of Mines graduate turned mining investment banker, with strong ties to the county, who recognised the global impact of the transition to EVs and renewable energy; understood the intrinsic natural capital of the granite batholith that extends from the Isles of Scilly to Dartmoor, and envisioned a progressive business that could accelerate this green revolution, rejuvenate Cornwall’s 4,000-year mining heritage and reinvigorate economic growth in a region that had seen better days.
“The first step was to dig deep into dusty mining archives and negotiate with land owners to secure mineral rights across the county so that we had a portfolio of permissions in place to enable us to explore,” explains Cornish Lithium’s Founder and Executive Chairman, Jeremy Wrathall. “The next stage was to digitise thousands of books, historic documents and exquisitely hand-drawn mining maps, and translate the information they contained into three-dimensional geological models, utilising the latest digital technology, to prepare for our first exploration borehole, with the long-term aim of extracting lithium from Professor Miller’s ‘hot springs’ – or geothermal waters as we describe them – in a low-carbon, low-impact manner.”
In 2020, the first exploration borehole at United Downs confirmed that lithium could indeed be found dissolved in the geothermal waters that circulate naturally at depth beneath Cornwall. Test results indicated commercial grades of lithium with very low levels of impurities, signifying the potential high-value of this Cornish resource compared to lithium found in geothermal brines elsewhere in the world. “Most of the world’s lithium is produced from rock in Australia and brine in Chile and Argentina, with the lithium concentrate produced in Australia requiring high-temperature processing, most of which is undertaken in China using fossil fuels,” adds Jeremy. “Our focus in Cornwall is to extract lithium in the most ethical and environmentally-sustainable way. Every tonne that we provide domestically is one tonne less that the UK needs to import, and cuts the carbon footprint of the country’s battery manufacturing industry. Secure domestic supplies of critical metals are considered crucial to the success of the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy as the nation moves towards net zero.”
TOP The Trelavour Hard Rock Project creates high-skill career opportunities in Cornwall ©Ian Kingsnorth ABOVE The Trelavour Pit in china clay country ©Ian Kingsnorth
To that end, Cornish Lithium established its first pilot plant at United Downs in 2021 where numerous Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technologies have been extensively trialled and evaluated in order to establish the optimal method for extracting lithium from geothermal waters in Cornwall – in the most responsible way.
The chosen DLE process can be likened to a water purification system. Mineral-rich water is pumped from approximately 2,000 metres below the surface via a borehole and then passed through columns where the lithium is extracted. Once the lithium has been removed, the water is then returned underground via a second borehole.
“Our geothermal extraction sites are of modest proportions and far less intrusive than traditional mining operations,” says Jeremy. “The 2,000-metre commercial boreholes used to reach lithium-enriched waters are under 20cm wide and high-tech processing equipment is accommodated in a facility that is smaller than a rugby pitch. It is our intention to develop a portfolio of such geothermal projects in Cornwall responsibly, with a view to producing 10,000 tonnes per year across it.” This is modern mineral extraction in action. Modular. Neat. Clean. Unobtrusive. About people, place and protecting its endemic ecology. About self-sufficiency, sustainability and resilience.
Planning consent has recently been granted by Cornwall Council for Cornish Lithium to establish the UK’s first commercial geothermal lithium production facility at the company’s Cross Lanes Project, near Chacewater. This will include a demonstration plant phase to enable multiple stages of testing and refinement, with the long-term aim of achieving full commercial production at the site.
But the scale of Cornish Lithium’s ambition doesn’t end there. In another historic mining district to the east of the county, Cornish Lithium established the UK’s first lithium hydroxide demonstration plant at its Trelavour Hard Rock Project near St Austell in 2024. Following exploratory drilling at this former china clay site in 2020, the Trelavour Pit has now been repurposed; existing power, road and rail infrastructure is being reutilised and the company plans to produce 10,000 tonnes per year of battery-grade lithium hydroxide. Cornish Lithium therefore plans to produce approximately 20% of the UK’s annual needs from its hard rock and geothermal projects overall.
As extracting battery-grade lithium from granite rock is complex, the company has established a demonstration plant near St Dennis to test and refine new and innovative processing technology, which reduces carbon emissions compared to the conventional methods adopted globally. By 2029, the Trelavour Demonstration Plant will lead the way for a fully operational commercial plant on site.
TOP Modern mineral extraction in action ©Ian Kingsnorth
ABOVE Lithium can be found in Cornish granite ©Ian Kingsnorth
Operated by a team of skilled engineers and lab technicians, and located just one kilometre from the Trelavour Pit, this plant can produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide at a single location, without the need for it to be shipped and processed elsewhere.
“This marks a major step towards a greener future for Cornwall and the nation as a whole,” comments Jeremy. “It is estimated that our Trelavour Hard Rock Project alone could generate £800 million of local economic activity over its expected 20-year mine life.” In recognition of this project’s scale and importance, given its potential to drive economic growth through the extraction of a strategically important critical mineral, the Government has determined that the Trelavour Hard Rock Project should be treated as nationally significant – a first for a mining project in the UK.
Planning will be streamlined and determined through a unified consenting process, whilst ensuring enhanced consultation with communities and other statutory consultees throughout the project’s development.
The Trelavour Demonstration Plant has been funded by a group of leading institutional investors led by the UK National Wealth Fund alongside The Energy & Minerals Group and TechMet. The hydrometallurgical section of this facility has also been partially funded via a grant from the Government via the Automotive Transformation Fund Scale up Readiness Validation programme. The company is already creating highly skilled, well-paid careers in Cornwall and intends to grow its team to 300 by 2028. It will also offer training programmes to empower local people to up-skill for this important new industry.
“In Cornwall, we have the right geology, the right minerals, a developing infrastructure, the support of the Government and institutional investors, and Cornish communities whose pride in the county’s rich mining heritage runs deep within their DNA,” affirms Jeremy.
Connecting with, consulting and listening to local people underscores the company’s success so far. Its commitment to proactive community engagement is impressive. It supports charities and initiatives by sponsoring events and environmental causes, and awards grants to clubs and activity groups in its project areas through the Cornish Lithium Community Fund. Heat from geothermal waters is expected also to provide safe, clean, renewable energy for factories, greenhouses, leisure centres and low-carbon housing developments, and the opportunity to utilise this valuable by-product to support Cornwall’s residents and businesses is being explored.
“The recent appointment of energy sector leader, Jamie Airnes, as Chief Executive Officer bolsters our senior team and the business can now move at pace from research and development towards full-scale operations, and seek to recruit the hundreds of employees we will require to bring the Trelavour Hard Rock Project into commercial production,” concludes Jeremy.
“This is a pivotal moment in the company’s history, which began as a start-up in 2016 and is now a nationally-recognised leader in critical mineral extraction. We believe that our lithium products will facilitate a sustainable battery supply chain in the UK and play a vital role in the energy transition away from fossil fuels. We can now focus on accelerating the development of a domestic supply of this critical metal for the nation, for the benefit of Cornwall. It has been an exciting journey so far and we are keen to move on to the next chapter.”
