Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB, XETRA:AMC) will idle the remaining operating train at its Kemerton lithium hydroxide processing plant in Western Australia, placing Train 1 into care and maintenance effective immediately, in a move expected to result in about 250 job losses.
The decision follows earlier steps in 2024 to place Train 2 into care and maintenance and to abandon expansion plans for Trains 3 and 4. Albemarle said the move would improve financial flexibility and preserve optionality amid ongoing challenges in Western hard-rock lithium conversion.
Kemerton processes spodumene from the Greenbushes mine, regarded as one of the world’s highest-quality hard-rock lithium resources. Albemarle holds a 49% stake in Talison Lithium, which owns and operates Greenbushes, and retains half of the mine’s offtake through a joint venture. The plant was developed to support the emergence of a Western-based lithium supply chain.
Chairman and CEO Kent Masters described the shutdown as a difficult but necessary decision.
“Idling operations at Kemerton was a difficult decision. It follows significant actions we have taken over the past two and a half years to reduce operating costs during an extended period of price volatility in the market.
“Unfortunately, recent lithium price improvements alone are not enough to offset the challenges facing Western hard-rock lithium conversion operations. This decision improves our financial flexibility and preserves optionality.”
Earnings impact flagged from Q2 2026
Albemarle said the action is expected to be accretive to adjusted EBITDA from the second quarter of 2026 and will not affect projected 2026 sales volumes, with customer demand to be met through other production channels, including its processing capacity in China.
The company stressed its Australian mining interests — including holdings in Greenbushes and the Wodgina lithium mine in the Pilbara in partnership with Mineral Resources, as well as exploration assets in WA — remain core to its strategy and are not impacted by the Kemerton decision.
Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King said the move was disappointing for workers and communities in Western Australia’s south-west and highlighted the difficulty of competing in battery metals supply chains dominated by China.
“The difficult decision taken by Albemarle reflects a simple reality that it can be an immense challenge for projects to compete in global supply chains that are concentrated, opaque and subject to market distortion,” she said.
Albemarle employs about 375 people in WA and said it has been in discussions with both the WA and federal governments regarding the refinery’s future. The company said it expects conditions to evolve as the lithium market matures, but warned Western hard-rock conversion would remain the most challenged part of the supply chain without sustained pricing high enough to offset higher operating costs.