Albemarle Corporation announced an agreement with Martin Marietta Materials, a leading supplier of building materials—including aggregate, cement, ready mixed concrete and asphalt—to make beneficial use of extracted limestone material from Albemarle’s proposed Kings Mountain Mine lithium project.

This agreement is part of Albemarle’s plan to resume lithium mining operations at the Kings Mountain Mine in an environmentally and socially responsible manner, including opportunities to repurpose byproduct material and enhance the economic benefits for the surrounding community.

Under the agreement, Albemarle plans to deliver limestone material to Martin Marietta’s Kings Mountain Quarry, adjacent to the Kings Mountain Mine. Martin Marietta plans to process and sell the limestone material as construction aggregate for use in infrastructure, nonresidential and residential construction projects.

The companies intend for this agreement to help reduce both companies’ operational footprints and contribute to more sustainable management of resources. The agreement also calls for a royalty fee for each ton of aggregate sold by Martin Marietta to be paid to Albemarle, which plans to transfer the royalty to a non-profit entity that focuses on funding initiatives to support Kings Mountain and the surrounding communities.

The Kings Mountain Mine is one of the few known hard-rock lithium deposits in the US and is expected to play a role in strengthening the US lithium supply chain. The mine, which closed in the early 1990s, is being redeveloped to align with the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance’s Standard for Responsible Mining, a set of expectations that independent auditors can use to benchmark mining operators’ practices.

Albemarle is currently preparing permits for submittal to regulatory agencies and undergoing studies and social impact assessments to determine the feasibility of reopening the mine. Once operational, the mine has the potential to produce approximately 420,000 tons of spodumene concentrate yearly.