Description of the company
Sibanye-Stillwater’s Keliber lithium project is anticipated to develop a responsible production of battery-grade lithium hydroxide. Lithium hydroxide is an essential component of lithium-ion batteries.
The Keliber lithium project comprises two mining sites and five advanced exploration targets, a concentrator in Päiväneva in Kaustinen, a lithium refinery located in the Kokkola Industrial Park, and the necessary auxiliary facilities at all sites.
The Keliber lithium project is expected to be the first integrated lithium hydroxide producer to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide from its own mined ore. The estimated annual production is approximately 15,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate, which will be delivered to the growing lithium battery market for at least 18 years. The European Commission granted the Keliber lithium project the status of a strategic project under the EU’s CRMA (Critical Raw Material Act) in 2025.
Keliber Oy’s shareholders are Sibanye-Stillwater (79.82%), Finnish Minerals Group (20%), a state-owned company developing the value chain of lithium-ion batteries in Finland, and a group of Finnish investors (0.18%).
Social Responsibility Report
Company in figures
- Production: 0
- Total mining: 2 359 523 t (100% waste rock mining 709 000 t in the year 2024 and 1 650 523 t in the year 2025), mainly for aggregate rock.
- Reported ore reserves: Proven 4,34 MT (1,09 % Li2O), Probable 8,62 MT (0,91 % Li2O)
- Reported minerals reserves: Measured 4,11 MT (1,31 % Li2O), Indicated 12,10 MT (1,18 % Li2O), Inferred 5,37 MT (1,16 % Li2O)
- Year of commencement: The spodumene mineral was identified in pegmatite boulders in 1959, and the first deposits were discovered by drilling in 1961–1962.
- Expected remaining life of the mine: 18
- Mining area: 720
- Number of own employees (31.12.): 201
Information about prospecting
The ore exploration of the Keliber lithium project is mainly focused on the Kaustinen, Kokkola and Kruunupyy areas. The exploration areas are being prospected for spodumene pegmatites, which can be utilised as raw material sources for lithium. Keliber is using the following exploration methods: diamond drilling, percussion drilling, boulder mapping and till sampling (sampling with minidrill, rock field saw, hammer and shovel), geophysical measurements and geochemical surveys.
- Number and area of reservation areas: 0
- Number and area of exploration permit areas: 35, covering 9020 hectares in total
- Number and area of exploration permit applications: 3, covering 724 hectares in total
- Exploration permits under appeal: 0
- Exploration drilling: 5,1 km
Environment
| Yes | No | |
|---|---|---|
| Location in a nature reserve* | ||
| Environmental Management System ** | ||
| Environmental impact assessment required (in accordance with the EIA Act) | ||
| Measurements for dust | ||
| Measurements for noise | ||
| Measurements for vibration | ||
| Environmental risk assessment carried out | ||
| Deviations from the environmental permit *** | ||
| Closure plan for the mine | ||
| Plan for the controlled shutdown of the mine in unexpected situations |
- * ISO45001:2018
- Environmental permit granted: Yes
- Year of permit: Syväjärvi 2019, Rapasaari-Päiväneva 2022, lithium refinery 2022
- Link of permit: https://ytietopalvelu.lvv.fi/fi-FI, Keliber
- Guarantee in accordance with the Environmental Protection Act: 9,7 M€ (Syväjärvi, Rapasaari, concentrator)
- Financial guarantee in accordance with the mining act in the mining permit area: 1,4 M€
- Financial guarantee in accordance with the mining act in mineral exploration permit area: 98 000 €
Key Figures
- Amount of extractive waste: 152 kT
- Utilization of extractive waste: 1,35 MT (waste rock utilized in construction works as aggregate rock)
- Fuel consumption: Not separately identifiable for the mine
- Other energy consumption: -
- Energy consumption target: No target set for the project phase
- CO2 emissions: Mining has not yet commenced; construction-phase emissions relate to all activities.
- Water consumption: 243 ML
- Discharge of water outside the mining area: 1,034 ML
- Endangered species are present in the operational area: kylla
- Use of environmentally hazardous chemicals: -
- Biodiversity actions: During 2025, the company continued to implement active conservation measures to protect endangered species occurring within and in the vicinity of its operational areas. These measures included, for example, the creation of compensatory habitats and supplementary feeding.
Personnel and security
| Yes | No | |
|---|---|---|
| Staff initiative system | ||
| Performance appraisals concerning the entire personnel | ||
| Staff training plan | ||
| Equality plan | ||
| Employee representation in company administration | ||
| Occupational health and safety management system* | ||
| Occupational safety card for everyone working in the area | ||
| Own rescue unit |
- * ISO45001:2018
Key Figures
- Average training days: 0.8
- Sickness absences (excluding contractors): 2.6 (sick leave hours as a percentage of theoretical working hours).
- Accident frequency: Keliber 3, contractors 10,4. 9,1 in total (TRIFR, includes cases requiring medical treatment beyond first aid or resulting in the person being unable to perform their normal duties on the following calendar day).
- Shift systems in use: Day work, flexible working hours, flexible work arrangements, five-shift system.
- Share of women in the labour force: 17,4 % (31 December 2025)
Impact on the use and livelihoods of nearby areas
Impact on local livelihood:
Mineral exploration is not carried out in the reindeer herding area. Municipalities, local residents, landowners and environmental organisations are the company’s key stakeholders and are taken into account in the company’s stakeholder work.
According to the company’s procurement policy, all procurements must be appropriate and cost-effective in terms of their overall solution. Purchases are made only from reliable suppliers and partners that comply with the principles of sustainable development.
In early spring 2019, the Kokkola University Consortium Chydenius published a preliminary assessment of the overall economic impacts of mining and wind power projects in the Kaustinen sub-region (KASE region). In February 2025, an updated study was published, Kaustisen seudun ja Sydänsuomessa-alueen energia-alan suurhankkeiden taloudellisten kokonaisvaikutusten ennakkoarviointi by the Kokkola University Consortium Chydenius and the University of Jyväskylä. One of the sites examined is the Kaustinen operations of the Sibanye-Stillwater Keliber lithium project and their key regional economic impacts. According to the studies, the Keliber lithium project will have significant positive economic impacts in the region both in the investment and production phases through both employment and tax revenue.
In addition to construction, mining and metal processing, the impact of Keliber’s future operations will be reflected in transport, various consumer services, as well as trade and accommodation and food service operations, among other things.
During the construction phase in 2023–2025, the project employed more than 1000 people daily. At the end of 2025, more than 200 employees worked directly for Keliber. In full production, the company’s own number of employees is about 250, and mining service contracting employs about 100. In addition, the lithium project will enable several hundred indirect jobs.
Impact on nearby recreational use:
In connection with the Environmental Impact Assessment (expansion of the lithium province of Central Ostrobothnia), the impacts of future activities on the recreational use of the area were examined. There are no official nature or outdoor trails in the area, and berry picking and hunting were considered to cause minor inconvenience. The significance of the impacts on people’s living conditions, health and comfort was estimated to be small.
Impacts on landscape value:
A large part of the operations are located in the current peat production area, where operations are about to end and the landscape values are low. In the quarry areas located in the forestry area, the number of people observing the landscape and experiencing the change is small, and there are no valuable landscape areas or significant cultural environment sites in the surrounding area. Therefore, the sensitivity of the landscape and cultural environment has been estimated to be low, as the changes are only visible in the future production areas and their immediate surroundings.
Interaction with stakeholders
Stakeholder cooperation:
Keliber is active in local communities to understand the adverse impacts of its operations, which the company aims to prevent and reduce, and to respond to the concerns and complaints of local people. Municipalities, local residents, landowners, environmental organizations, employees, and future employees are the company’s key stakeholders and are taken into account in the company’s stakeholder work.
Keliber’s stakeholder work is proactive and systematic to ensure that stakeholders have access to information. The company’s operations and current affairs are communicated in real time on Sibanye-Stillwater’s website, Facebook and LinkedIn pages, Keliber leaflets, Kaustinen’s municipal bulletin and local events.
In 2025, public events open to all were held in Kaustinen and Kokkola, bus tours in Kaustinen, and smaller events where landowners and residents of nearby villages were met. Keliber also participated in the Kokkola Works campaign, the Kokkola Material Week event, student events, and events in the mining and battery industry. Keliber sponsors local children’s and young people’s culture and sports, as well as local events.
Research and cooperation projects:
Keliber engages in extensive research and development cooperation as its own work, together with research institutes and various private operators.The focus areas of Keliber’s R&D activities are support for the start-up of production (mine/concentrator/refinery), further development of processes, reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and utilisation of production side streams. Keliber’s R&D K projects are largely public projects supported by either Business Finland or the EU, in which Finnish partners included GTK, VTT, the University of Oulu and Lappeenranta University of Technology. Through EU Horizon projects, European universities and research institutes are also involved in the activities.
In 2025, previously started projects were continued, the most significant of which were LITHOS, EXCEED and BATCircle3.0. The BATCircle3.0 project focuses on the recycling of battery metals and the utilization of by-products generated in EXCEED ore processing. The LITHOS project aims to find solutions for the utilization of poorer ores than before. The company’s research and development investments in 2025 totaled €4.51 million (including ore exploration). Keliber is also still involved in two IPCEI (Important Projects of Common European Interest) projects. These develop a sustainable European lithium-ion battery chain from mining to recycling. Starting the lithium production chain under construction from the mine to the end product will significantly increase R&D activities. The primary goal is the successful ramp-up of the mine, concentrator and refinery.