Covalent

What Covalent does

Covalent Lithium is a 50:50 joint venture between Wesfarmers Limited and Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM), established to develop a fully integrated lithium mining and refining operation in Western Australia. The company operates two principal assets: the Mt Holland Mine and Concentrator, which produces spodumene concentrate, and the Kwinana Lithium Hydroxide Refinery, which converts that concentrate into battery-grade lithium hydroxide using hydrometallurgical processing. At nameplate capacity of approximately 50,000 tonnes per annum, the integrated operation is sized to supply enough battery-grade lithium hydroxide for roughly one million electric vehicles per year.

The company sells its product directly to electric vehicle battery manufacturers and energy storage system producers through offtake agreements, operating a B2B enterprise model with pricing determined by global lithium market conditions. The core technology stack is the integrated mine-to-refinery value chain, which removes the third-party processing step that is typical for spodumene producers. As a private joint venture funded entirely by its two corporate parents, Covalent has no external venture capital or private equity exposure, and its earnings contribution is reported through Wesfarmers' Chemicals, Energy & Fertilisers division, which recorded its first positive lithium earnings contribution from Covalent (AUD 6 million) in H1 2026.

The company is headquartered at the Kwinana refinery site and was founded in 2018. First battery-grade lithium hydroxide production was achieved in July 2025, with the operation currently ramping toward nameplate capacity. Recent milestones include the Mt Holland mine reaching over 80% of nameplate capacity in 2025, a January 2025 bushfire emergency that temporarily disrupted the mine site, and a CEO transition announced in May 2026 with Stuart Macnaughton succeeding Ross Martelli at the end of 2026.

Name

Covalent

Legal name

Covalent Lithium Pty Ltd

Website

https://covalentlithium.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Covalent Lithium is a 50:50 joint venture between Wesfarmers and SQM operating an integrated mine (Mt Holland) and refinery (Kwinana) in Western Australia to produce approximately 50,000 tonnes per annum of battery-grade lithium hydroxide for electric vehicle battery and energy storage manufacturers globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Lithium Mining and Refining

NAICS

Other Metal Ore Mining (21229)

SIC

Metal Mining (1000)

akta.pro primary industry

Lithium Mining & Brine Extraction (IMAKAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Battery-Grade Chemical Processing (LiOH/Li2CO3, Ni/Co Sulfates, Mn Sulfate) (IMAKAFAI), Battery Raw Materials Mining & Refining (Lithium, Nickel, Cobalt, Manganese, Graphite) (EUAFABAA)

Keywords

• Battery grade lithium
• Lithium hydroxide production
• Lithium mining operations
• Hydrometallurgical refining
• Critical minerals processing

Headquarters

HQ city

Perth

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Lithium Hydroxide Sales: Production and sale of battery-grade lithium hydroxide produced from the Mt Holland mine and Kwinana refinery. The operation is expected to produce approximately 50,000 tonnes per annum at full capacity, sufficient for approximately one million electric vehicles per year.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Covalent Lithium operates a fully integrated lithium mining and refining operation in Western Australia comprising the Mount Holland Mine and Concentrator and the Kwinana Lithium Hydroxide Refinery. The company mines spodumene ore and converts it into approximately 50,000 tonnes per annum of battery-grade lithium hydroxide, supplying electric vehicle battery manufacturers and energy storage system producers globally.

Product overview

Covalent Lithium is a fully integrated lithium mining and refining operation comprising the Mount Holland Mine and Concentrator and the Kwinana Lithium Hydroxide Refinery in Western Australia. As a 50:50 joint venture between Wesfarmers Limited and Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM), the company produces approximately 50,000 tonnes per annum of battery-quality lithium hydroxide, supplying the electric vehicle and energy storage markets globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mount Holland Mine and Concentrator Open-pit lithium mining operation located within the Great Western Woodlands in Western Australia (also referred to as the Earl Grey Lithium Project). The site includes a concentrator that produces spodumene concentrate, which is the upstream feedstock for the Kwinana refinery's hydrometallurgical processing.
• Kwinana Lithium Hydroxide Refinery Battery-grade lithium hydroxide refinery located in the Kwinana Industrial Area, approximately 35 kilometres south of Perth, Western Australia. The refinery converts spodumene concentrate into approximately 50,000 tonnes per annum of battery-quality lithium hydroxide for electric vehicle and energy storage markets.
• Battery-Quality Lithium Hydroxide Battery-grade lithium hydroxide produced at the Kwinana refinery, supplied to global electric vehicle battery manufacturers and energy storage system producers to support growing demand for clean energy storage and EV battery production.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50,000 tonnes per annum nameplate capacity for battery-grade lithium hydroxide
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSQM is a 50% joint venture partner in Covalent Lithium. SQM brings extensive expertise in lithium and chemical processing, contributing to the joint venture's capabilities in producing battery-quality lithium hydroxide for the global EV and energy storage markets.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Mineral Resources (MinRes): Australian mining and processing operator with significant lithium exposure (Mt Marion JV with Ganfeng, downstream Kemerton hydroxide refinery). Comparable regional peer with integrated lithium operations in Western Australia.
• IGO Limited: Australian mining company with a significant stake in the Greenbushes lithium operation and downstream processing interests (Kwinana hydroxide refinery JV with Tianqi). Comparable as an Australian critical minerals operator with battery-grade lithium exposure.

Emerging players

• Piedmont Lithium: Emerging North American-focused lithium developer pursuing integrated spodumene-to-hydroxide production. Comparable emerging integrated lithium chemicals business targeting the EV battery materials supply chain.

Direct peers

• Albemarle Corporation: Global leader in lithium production across brine and hard-rock resources, with significant lithium hydroxide output serving EV battery manufacturers. Direct competitor in battery-grade lithium hydroxide supply.
• Liontown Resources: Australian hard-rock lithium developer (Kathleen Valley) producing spodumene concentrate with downstream ambitions. Comparable Australian lithium producer serving the EV battery materials market.
• Pilbara Minerals: Australian hard-rock lithium producer (Pilgangoora) supplying spodumene concentrate and developing downstream processing. Comparable as a Western Australian lithium operator targeting battery-grade supply chains.
• Tianqi Lithium: One of the world's largest hard-rock lithium hydroxide producers with the Kwinana-style integrated mine-to-refinery model (Greenbushes stake + processing). Highly comparable as a vertically integrated lithium chemicals producer.
• Arcadium Lithium (formerly Livent / Allkem): Major integrated lithium chemicals producer formed by the merger of Livent and Allkem, with brine and hard-rock assets and significant lithium hydroxide capacity. Closely comparable product portfolio and customer base.

Broad incumbents

• Ganfeng Lithium: Chinese integrated lithium producer with extensive upstream and downstream operations across brine, hard-rock and chemical processing. Comparable as a vertically integrated producer of battery-grade lithium chemicals serving global EV customers.
• Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM): One of the world's largest lithium producers from Salar de Atacama brine resources and a 50% parent of Covalent. Comparable as a major global lithium chemicals producer with deep hydrometallurgical expertise, though operating from a fundamentally different resource base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/covalent-lithium-pty-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Covalent