ASX-listed Mineral Resources today said the pair had decided to restart their Wodgina hard rock operation in the Pilbara, which had been mothballed in November 2019 due to then-weak market conditions.

Lithium prices have since surged to fresh highs this month, surpassing 2018 peaks due to growing demand from the electric vehicle sector as the global energy transition gains pace.

MinRes said the MARBL joint venture would initially focus on restarting one of Wodgina's three 250,000t processing lines.

"It was the correct decision in late 2019 to place Wodgina on care and maintenance though it never dented our confidence in lithium's long-term positive demand fundamentals," MinRes MD Chris Ellison said this morning.

Under the MARBL joint venture, Albemarle gained 60% of Wodgina and will operate the pair's Kemerton lithium hydroxide plant south of Perth, where construction of the first of two 25,000tpa trains is due by year-end.

Albemarle announced plans to further expand its lithium hydroxide production on Friday, outlining plans to build two new conversion plants in China, each initially targeting 50,000tpa of battery-grade lithium hydroxide.

The company said it recently signed investment agreements with the Yangtze River International Chemical Industrial Park in the Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone in Jiangsu province, and the Pengshan Economic Development Park in the Pengshan District in Sichuan province.

Subject to studies and approvals, Albemarle expected the "next-generation" lithium plants in each province to be constructed by the end of 2024.