A PROJECT in the Clay Country pioneering the extraction of lithium for electric vehicle batteries has gained international recognition.

The Trelavour Lithium Project, run by Cornish Lithium, at St Dennis has been officially designated as an MSP project by the multi-national Minerals Security Partnership (MSP).

The designation underscores the project’s global significance with regard to critical minerals and the growing potential for more international trade links.

News of the recognition was announced during Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer’s trade visit to India.

Trelavour, already treated as a scheme of national significance by the government, is the first UK mining project to achieve the international designation.

The status was gained following a submission to the Minerals Security Partnership by the Department for Business and Trade, working in partnership with Cornish Lithium.

The partnership, focused on fostering supply chain resilience and responsible growth across the critical minerals sector, identifies projects that adhere to stringent sustainability standards and demonstrate unique innovations in order to help accelerate their expansion. It aims to develop secure, sustainable supply chains for essential minerals needed for strategic technologies.

The designation allows Cornish Lithium to work with the inter-governmental partnership comprising 14 countries, including India, and the EU, engaging with trade and finance bodies. The framework provides opportunities to forge international partnerships, exchange best practices and explore co-financing models.

The news marks another important step in Cornish Lithium’s progress, following the recent announcement that the company has secured up to £35-million of new investment to advance its projects to the next stage of development.

Cornish Lithium chief executive Jamie Airnes said: “We are honoured that the Minerals Security Partnership has recognised our Trelavour Lithium Project as an MSP project – the first in the UK to receive this designation. It reflects the critical role Cornwall can play in building secure, responsible supply chains for the lithium the UK and its partners urgently need.

“This designation is a testament to the hard work of our team and the support of the local community in Cornwall. It will open the door to new international partnerships, trade opportunities and financing pathways as we work to deliver a secure domestic lithium supply while creating jobs and supporting economic growth in Cornwall and the wider South West.

“The development of the Trelavour Lithium Project is a critical step in securing future lithium supply, jobs, industries and economic growth for Cornwall and the UK and we are proud that Cornish Lithium is at the forefront of this transition.”

Cornish Lithium is focused on the extraction of lithium from geothermal waters and hard rock in Cornwall.

Lithium is critically important to the manufacturing of electric vehicles, grid-scale electricity storage and rechargeable industrial batteries, and for battery-related defence applications.

The company has secured agreements with the owners of mineral rights covering a large area of the county and is using modern technology to re-evaluate the region’s potential to produce lithium and other metals.

Founded in 2016, Cornish Lithium employs 99 people across its sites at St Dennis, United Downs and Penryn.