Call on reopening disused Greenbushes-Bunbury rail link revised to first quarter of 2025

A decision on the reopening of a long-mothballed South West rail link to service the State’s richest lithium mine has been pushed back into 2025.

Recommissioning the disused 82km Bunbury spur line would enable the owner of the Greenbushes mine to transfer haulage of lithium-rich concentrate from road trains on the busy South Western Highway.

Talison Lithium, the State Government and rail operator Arc Infrastructure have been looking at a reopening since at least 2018, but the proposal took a major step forward in August last year with the launch of a full feasibility study.

The initial timeline focused on completion in the second half of 2024, suggesting a potential decision by the end of the year.

However, Talison confirmed on Wednesday the detailed feasibility study was now tracking towards an expected completion by the end of 2024 with a reopening call now due by the end of March.

“The results will play an important role in determining the future of the track, including potential costs and funding options for reinstatement of the line, level crossings, and terminal facilities,” said Talison, which is owned by US group Albemarle (49 per cent) and a partnership of China’s Tianqi and Perth-based IGO (51 per cent).

“A decision on recommissioning the line is likely to be made in the second quarter of 2025.”

The feasibility study, funded by more than $6.6 million provided by Talison and the Government, has included extensive community sessions in the South West to gauge local feedback.

Laid more than a century ago to support WA’s timber industry, the Greenbushes to Bunbury line was closed in 2000.

However, it looms as a logical and safer alternative to the use of trucks to haul the increasing volumes of lithium concentrate being produced at Greenbushes, 250km south of Perth.

A rolling expansion of Greenbushes has created road safety and congestion concerns on the mainly one-lane South West Highway, with more than 130 truck journeys a day needed to support the mine’s current production of 1.5 million tonnes of concentrate.

Under plans to increase annual output to as much as 2.1mt, the number of truck movements would leap to 200 or more a day.

New supply and reduced demand from China has put lithium in a drawn-out slump, with prices for the battery metal prices falling to a three-year low.

Many producers have subsequently reined in expansion plan and reduced spending to weather the downturn or protect profits.

However, Talison suggested the rail decision would not be affected by the current price weakness.

Greenbushes “has a projected mine life of 20-plus years”, and “while market fluctuations may influence the short-term outlook, this project is being assessed with a long-term perspective”, it said.