French minerals company Imerys said on Monday it wanted to become the leading supplier of lithium in Europe through a mining project in France.

Imerys said it was targeting annual domestic production of 34,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxite from 2028 that would allow it to supply around 700,000 electric cars thanks to a new mine located in the Allier department in central France.

Electric cars are a key plank of European Union plans to cut emissions, and the bloc is trying to reduce reliance on battery supplies from Asia through projects with European-based carmakers and battery specialists.

But almost all the critical minerals currently come from outside the Continent, with China dominating the global supply chain.

New figures published on Monday showed China’s exports of rare earth metals climbed 10.4 per cent in September from the corresponding month a year ago, according to the Chinese general administration of customs. Exports of the group of 17 minerals stood at 4,327.7 tonnes last month, up from 3,920.2 tonnes in September last year, the data showed.

Over the first nine months of the year, Chinese shipments are up 6.3 per cent year on year. — Reuters

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