The salt and gypsum operation in Carnarvon, Western Australia is set to be sold to Leichhardt Industrials Group. The transaction is anticipated to be finalized before the year's end.
Leichhardt Industrials Group has noted a growing demand for Asian-Pacific Industrial Salt, driven by the chemical market, food ingredients, and other industrial products. The company predicts a shortfall of salt supply – 20 million tons by 2027, with Australia’s operations dominating global production.
Richard Cohen, Managing Director of Port Rail and Core Services for Rio Tinto, stated in a January 15 news release announcing the pending sale: "The sale of Lake MacLeod will enable Dampier Salt to focus on enhancing operational efficiencies at its remaining two Pilbara operations while allowing the new owner of Lake MacLeod to maximise its potential. Until the completion of the sale, the Dampier Salt leadership team’s focus will be on safety, delivering on plan, and maintaining respect for all people at Lake MacLeod and in the Carnarvon community. We are pleased Leichhardt has committed to retaining all Lake MacLeod employees, ensuring continuity of operation and providing job stability to the 130-strong workforce."
Dampier Salt is a joint venture between Rio Tinto (68%), Marubeni Corporation (22%), and Sojitz (10%).
Founded in 2016, Leichhardt Industrials initiated a project concept for producing 1.6 million tons per year in 2017. The company was awarded lead agency major project status for the Eramurra Solar Salt Project in September 2020. In September 2021, it completed an advanced scoping study for this project with a predicted output of 4.2 million tons per year. According to information available on its website's timeline page, Leichhardt expects to commence construction of various facilities including salt concentrator and crystallizer ponds, a jetty, wash plant, and non-process infrastructure this year.