Northern Lithium reaches an important new milestone in its programme to produce lithium in the North East of England, with the successful completion of its first exploration borehole and confirmation of the presence of economically viable concentrations of lithium in brines. Against the backdrop of rising demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and ongoing geopolitical instability, today’s announcement puts the UK one step closer to unlocking a secure, low-carbon source of lithium in the North East of England.

Having secured agreements with the owners of certain mineral rights across a large area of the Northern Pennine Orefield, including significant areas of Weardale, drilling began at Ludwell Farm, Eastgate, County Durham in May this year. By August, Northern Lithium had successfully completed its first exploration borehole with the team drilling down over 750m into the granite beneath the site in search of saline brines. A series of detailed scientific studies were conducted to test for lithium in the brines collected and these confirmed commercially viable concentrations were present.

The findings from this initial exploration borehole mean that Northern Lithium can now accelerate its programme of work through further investigations across the area and start developing plans for commercial production in the next two to three years. Northern Lithium started drilling a second borehole at Ludwell Farm in September and has begun evaluating the right processing technologies to extract lithium at commercial scale from the brines discovered.

Northern Lithium has already secured significant financial backing, including recently closing a £3.1m funding round part of which was a feasibility study grant from the Automotive Transformation Fund run by the Advanced Propulsion Centre.

As well as local contractors and service providers, Northern Lithium is supported by a team of leading experts in the UK’s mineral extraction industry. Partners on this important journey to hopefully establish County Durham as a hub for domestic supply of lithium include environmental, engineering and mining consultancy Wardell Armstrong, who are advising on a range of operational and permitting matters; SRK Consulting who are providing expert advice on borehole design and testing methodologies, Robertsons Geo, Adrok, and RTI Exploration who are delivering valuable geophysical insights and Priority Drilling Limited who, having successfully drilled the initial borehole ahead of schedule, continue as drilling partner on the expansion of the development programme.

Demand for EVs continues to accelerate as the UK’s 2030 target to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars draws closer. This is a pivotal moment for the UK to establish a thriving EV supply chain, underpinned by a secure domestic source of lithium, which can attract global investment and drive economic growth in the North East. Northern Lithium is proud to be contributing to this important work and looks forward to the next steps in this exciting journey.