Public consultation
We were pleased to hold our second public consultation on the Trelavour Lithium Project from 02 March until 11:59pm on 13 April.
During this consultation, we shared further information about our plans, along with the findings from our preliminary environmental assessment. Members of the public were invited to attend our consultation events and to review the consultation materials both online and in local venues.
Scroll down to find out more about the consultation and project.
Public consultation
We hosted eight in-person consultation events in venues near the Project. Events were attended by a selection of Cornish Lithium staff and other technical experts.
If you have any questions, please get in touch with the team.
Consultation materials
We produced a range of documents for the consultation. We invite you to view and download digital copies of all our consultation material below:
Consultation booklet and feedback form
In addition, copies of our consultation booklet and feedback form were available during the consultation period:
- The Pitch at St Dennis
- ClayTAWC in St Dennis
- Nanpean Social Club
- Whitemoor Methodist Church
- St Stephen Community Centre Social Club
- Roche Victory Hall Social Club
- Indian Queens Victory Hall
We recommended contacting the venue directly to confirm opening hours before visiting, particularly around public holidays.
The documents from our previous consultation can be found in our document library towards the end of this page.
Ways to provide your feedback
Feedback could be provided until 11:59pm on 13 April, 2026 in one of the following ways:
• Attend one of our consultation events in person and speak to our team.
• Complete a feedback form online here.
• Email your feedback to us on: trelavourlithiumproject@cornishlithium.com
• Call us and leave a message on our voicemail: 01726 456 465
• Post your feedback free of charge to: Freepost Trelavour Lithium Project (no stamp required)
We are committed to ensuring project information is accessible. You were invited to contact us if you have any accessibility requirements or need materials in alternative formats.
Next steps
Following the consultation, we are now in the process of carefully reviewing all feedback and insights from local communities, wider stakeholders and statutory bodies. Your feedback which will help us to:
• Refine our plans further
• Address concerns where possible
• Finalise the Environmental Statement for submission
• Prepare our Development Consent Order (DCO) application ready for submission to the Planning Inspectorate.
Download our lithium processing information sheet
A new chapter in Cornwall’s rich mining heritage
Trelavour Lithium Project
At the Trelavour Lithium Project, we plan to extract lithium using a new process technology. This extraction method should produce fewer carbon emissions than other processes used worldwide.
The lithium produced will create a domestic supply of lithium for the UK and provide jobs in the region.
Trelavour
Demonstration Plant
To extract battery-grade lithium from granite rock, several processing steps are required.
Launched in 2024, our Trelavour Demonstration Plant is the UK's first low-emission lithium hydroxide demonstration facility, marking a key step in the nation’s clean energy transition by 2030. Using innovative processing technology, the full-scale plant could result in lower carbon emissions compared to traditional mining methods, paving the way for future full-scale commercial production.
Projected lithium production
We intend to produce up to 10,000 tonnes per year of battery-grade lithium hydroxide in Cornwall. By rejuvenating an existing pit, the environmental impact of our hard rock extraction is minimal. No new pits will be created, and much of the required infrastructure is already in place, including power, rail and road.
National significance status
The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government has decided that the Trelavour Lithium Project will be treated as a project of national significance for the following reasons:
- The project is likely to have significant economic impact and will be important in driving growth, nationally and regionally
- Its influence will impact on a region that is wider than a single local authority area; and
- It focuses on the extraction of a strategically important industrial mineral.
This means that Cornish Lithium need to apply for a Development Consent Order (DCO) to get planning permission under section 35 of the Planning Act 2008.
Unlike other planning applications, DCO applications are decided at the national level by the Secretary of State. Independent inspectors from the Government's Planning Inspectorate (PINS) will carry out a public 6-month examination of the application, before submitting their recommendations to the Secretary of State, who will make the final decision.
Local councils and communities have a very important role in helping to inform the evolution of the plans through a process that is set out in the Planning Act 2008 and associated guidance.
Valuable by-products
In addition to lithium, Cornish Lithium’s hard rock production could create valuable by-products, reducing waste and benefiting various industries. Examples include amorphous silica for green cement, sulphate of potash for fertiliser, and gypsum for plasterboard.
Hard Rock Project
Trelavour Community Liaison Group
At Cornish Lithium, we work closely with local communities through our Community Liaison Groups (CLGs).
Group members represent local towns, villages, communities and voices, capturing the opinions and interests of those who could benefit from or be affected by our projects.
At our Trelavour Lithium Project, meetings are held regularly to discuss the latest developments, share information and gain insights to cooperatively shape the direction of the project. The aim is to ensure the voices of local residents are heard and enable two-way communication throughout the project phases.
For more information about the Trelavour CLG, or to find out about how to join, please email us at: trelavourclg@cornishlithium.com
Stay informed with the latest CLG meeting notes.
Downloads
Trelavour Community Newsletter – May 2026
Trelavour
We are repurposing a former china-clay pit near St Austell to produce lithium through responsible hard rock extraction.
Frequently asked questions
Lithium is critically important to the growth of a commercially and environmentally-sustainable UK economy. Electric vehicles, grid-scale electricity storage and all forms of rechargeable industrial and consumer electronics, including our phones, all rely on batteries to store energy.
Lithium-ion batteries are the most efficient and technologically advanced battery solution that is used here in the UK and across the world. Lithium is identified as a critical mineral in the UK Critical Minerals Strategy, the Government’s long term plan for securing the minerals needed to support economic growth and the transition to clean energy. This reflects the UK Government’s recognition of lithium’s role in strengthening energy security and economic resilience, and the growing focus on developing secure, responsible and homegrown supplies.
Recent global crises show how being overly dependent on other countries for imports of critical raw materials, like lithium, can create problems, especially when there is high competition for global resources and when we have abundant UK supplies. The UK has its own domestic reserves of lithium, with the largest reserves in Europe in Cornwall – enough to supply around 50% of the UK’s annual needs by 2030.
We are currently operating a Lithium Processing Demonstration Facility. This plant was launched in 2024 and is the UK’s first low-carbon, end-to-end, battery-grade demonstration facility, where rock is taken directly from the pit and processed to extract lithium hydroxide. The Demonstration Facility is housed in a building that was part of previous china clay operations and was repurposed as an example of how we can build on the heritage of mining in the clay country and enter a new era of the mining industry.
The demonstration plant allows us to test processes and technologies for the commercial phase. The facility is currently operational and in October 2025 produced the first refined lithium hydroxide in the UK.
It will continue to operate and provides critical data on the safety and efficacy of our processes to regulators, investors and community members and will inform the development of future Project design.
We are continuing to operate our Demonstration Plant at the Trelavour Processing Main Site. In parallel we are advancing our Feasibility Study and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the proposed Trelavour Lithium Project, which includes plans to use the current site. Ongoing studies are helping to progress our plans for submitting an application for consent later in 2026.
The Trelavour Lithium Project has been designated a Project of national significance, meaning planning approval will be decided through a Development Consent Order (DCO) by the UK Government Secretary of State. A Development Consent Order is the process by which projects defined as being of national significance secure planning consent and, where required, powers to compulsorily acquire land.
Cornish Lithium plans to submit its DCO application in 2026, after consultation and engagement with regulators, stakeholders and local communities to shape and improve the proposals. Our second public consultation is now live and we encourage everyone to get involved!
Cornish Lithium is funded through a combination of private investment and crowdfunding. Our three key investors are:
- The National Wealth Fund (formerly the UK Infrastructure Bank), the United Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund.
- The Energy & Minerals Group (EMG), a US-based private equity firm focused on natural resources and critical minerals for the energy transition.
- TechMet, an investment company supporting projects in the extraction, processing, and recycling of metals essential to decarbonisation.
The Project is expected to produce up to 10,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide annually. This will considerably strengthen the UK’s critical minerals supply chain and reduce the UK’s reliance on importing carbon-intensive materials from abroad. It is also a significant Project as it will reinvigorate the mining industry in Cornwall, creating a whole new sector focused on lithium, putting the region’s potential on the map and providing local job opportunities.
We are aiming for commercial lithium production at our Trelavour Lithium Project in 2029.
We welcome enquiries from individuals, school groups, and organisations interested in visiting our Trelavour Lithium Project by pre-booked appointment. Please note that it may not always be possible to accommodate visits due to operational reasons. Get in touch here to find out more.
We also invite you to attend our community open days. Details of upcoming events will be shared on the Community Events page and across our social media channels. Follow us on social media and sign up for our email newsletter to stay updated. You can find all the links here.
The Project would create significant employment opportunities during construction and operation:
During construction, a large workforce would be required over approximately two years.
Once operational, the Project is expected to support around 320 long term jobs on site, with additional jobs supported through local and UK supply chains.
The Project would support longterm skilled employment, local supply chains and wider economic resilience, helping to reinvigorate Cornwall’s historic mining economy while contributing to national clean energy objectives.
Our priority is to hire locally, with training and apprenticeships in place to support this. Cornish Lithium will seek to ensure these jobs create opportunities in the local area, including partnering with local schools and colleges, creating apprenticeship programmes and working directly with local SMEs.
While some specialist roles may need expertise from outside the immediate area, many can be filled from within Cornwall and our goal is to create fulfilling career opportunities for this generation and the next in Cornwall.
These opportunities are designed to support Cornwall’s next generation with long-term careers. To stay updated and apply when roles become available, please visit our online careers page.
The Project would create significant employment opportunities. Once operational, the Project is expected to support around 320 long term jobs on site, with additional jobs supported through local and UK supply chains.
We have also developed a dedicated Community Investment Strategy to maximise the positive impact for those who live in the vicinity of our projects. This is centred around the Cornish Lithium Community Fund which was launched in partnership with the Cornwall Community Foundation (CCF) in 2022. Cornish Lithium is proud to have already supported a diverse range of local projects - from heritage projects and community events to environmental and wildlife programmes.
We have launched our second round of consultation, open from 02 March to 13 April 2026. We encourage everyone to get involved.
Engaging with local people and stakeholders is important to us, as it helps shape a responsible and successful Project. Since our first consultation in July and August last year, we have continued our technical and environmental assessments and updated our plans. We are now sharing the latest information with you and asking for your views.
Before any work begins, we are carrying out detailed surveys to understand exactly which heritage features, structures and landscape elements could be affected by the Project. These surveys help us plan our activities carefully, avoid sensitive features wherever possible, and design appropriate mitigation where avoidance is not feasible.
Throughout planning, construction and operations, Cornish Lithium will continue to work closely with community members, schools and heritage groups to celebrate, protect and share Cornwall’s mining heritage. This includes supporting local history initiatives, offering educational opportunities, and ensuring that important heritage knowledge is captured and passed on to future generations.
Our environmental team and ecologists have been studying local habitats and species on our site for several years. We are looking at how our work might affect wildlife, including noise, dust and lighting from operations. We are also committed to Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) – meaning the environment will be left in a better state than before. This includes protecting and improving existing habitats, creating new ones, and working with groups like Natural England to make sure we not only follow regulations and best practice but also go above and beyond to look after the local area and its residents.
During the previous consultation in 2025 many of you told us that access to local recreational areas and footpaths is important. In response we have reviewed how the proposed plans interact with existing routes and are now presenting potential diversions and alternative paths for your consideration.
We are also continuing to explore options for a new multiuse community trail.
Based on our discussions so far, we have identified where potential diversions for Public Right’s of Way (PRoWs) could be accommodated. We’ve also identified where some permissive paths within the site could be safely re-aligned or improved for community use. We welcome your feedback as part of our second public consultation. Refer to our consultation materials for more information.
As a Cornish company, run and operated by people from the local area, we know there is significant local attachment to the sky tips as they represent a proud heritage in mineral extraction. However, after extensive investigation work and examining all options, there is sadly no way of securing the hundreds of future jobs by developing the site safely without removing the sky tips. We will be working with the local people over the coming months to identify how the history and heritage of the sky tips can best be recognised as part of Cornwall’s proud mining heritage. In addition to this, we are developing a project that we believe represents the sustainable future of mining in the county and the country, thus carrying on that proud tradition.
We will do our best to keep permissive paths open throughout the project. If temporary closures are required for safety, we will provide alternative routes and re-open paths as soon as possible where we can. We are also exploring a new 2.4 km mixed-use community trail linking St Dennis to Goss Moor National Nature Reserve.
Throughout the design of the existing plans Cornish Lithium have already ensured that the visual impact of the Project is reduced significantly. This includes building on existing brownfield industrial sites, and making certain that key infrastructure is screened by either the existing topography of the site or introducing berms (embankments) and vegetation to do so.
Cornish Lithium is also committed to retaining significant amounts of mature vegetation wherever possible. This wooded/scrub vegetation is currently very effective at limiting views into the site.
We will minimise dust using modern controls such as water sprinkler systems, covered conveyors, dust collectors, and modernised targeted blasting techniques. Air quality will be monitored at all times. Dust and emissions will be kept well below legal limits, supported by multiple air-cleaning systems. Our design phase includes identifying and minimising potential sources of emissions to ensure local air remains safe.
Waste materials, including sands and clays, will be safely stored and managed. Waste from the concentrator will be transported as a slurry by pipeline to the Goonvean pit where it will be placed as a slurry initially and then later it will be filter pressed and dry stacked. Hydromet waste will be transported as a damp sand by lorry to the Treviscoe pit where it will be dry stacked from the start. Both pits will eventually be filled in and restored.
We will minimise waste by recovering the maximum amount of lithium possible, optimising the quantities of reagents we are using and working to find commercial outlets for our byproducts. A recycling programme will also be in place throughout the life of the operation to deal with the typical waste streams generated from offices, workshops, and other facilities on site.
We aim to keep construction and operational traffic away from local roads and villages wherever possible. Options being considered include a short extension to the Cornwall Energy Recovery Centre (CERC) haulage route to avoid traffic entering villages, upgrades to the mineral railway, and a covered overland conveyor to move rock between the pit and processing plant. Please refer to our consultation materials and PEIR for more information (available on this website page).
