Earlier this week, the emerging lithium producer's Mt Cattlin lithium project which lies 2 kilometres from the town of Ravensthorpe in Western Australia was officially opened by Member for Eyre Graham Jacobs and attended by Galaxy investors, customers and project stakeholders.
 
The project, which cost around $A79 million, has a minimum 16-year mine life and, at capacity, will produce 137,000 tonnes per annum of spodumene product to be exported through the Esperance port to Galaxy's Jiangsu operations in China.
 
However, Galaxy is not your run-of-the-mill mining company. The company also has aspirations of becoming one of the world's first vertically integrated lithium resource, chemical and battery producers.
 
Fielding questions from journalists at the opening of Mt Cattlin, Galaxy managing director Iggy Tan said there was a value-add if the whole process could be controlled from mining through to the end product.
 
"The most important thing for us is that we own the resource," he said. "With having the resource, you can control the whole process downstream."
 
Recently, the company wrapped up a feasibility study evaluating the potential to develop a lithium ion battery project in the Jingsu Zhangjiagang High Technology Park.
 
Tan believes the lithium ion battery project offers an opportunity to tap into the lithium ion battery manufacturing industry.
 
He went on to say the plant would produce lithium battery packs for E-bikes at rate of 350,000 per annum in the first phase.
 
"E-bikes are very popular in China and overseas in US and Europe. These are bicycles that are controlled by electric motors up to scooters and electric motor bikes," he said.
 
"We have conducted the feasibility study and it looks very promising and we have secured the team that will take us through this project and we also have a site at Zhangjiagang in Jiangsu province."
 
According to recent figures, China produced around 30 million E-Bikes last year at a growth rate of 5-7% per annum.
 
The project's development remains in the preliminary stage with a final investment decision yet to be made.
 
To assist in the funding for its development, Galaxy is also aiming to dual-list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange during the first quarter on 2011.
 
"The attraction for Hong Kong is that it is such a big market," Tan said.
 
"Its high liquidity and it has a very broad investor base so when you have a story that relates to China, and particularly in the lithium sector, it really makes sense that we go to Hong Kong because there is a lot of interest in lithium stocks in that area."
 
He went on to say the Hong Kong investor really understood the underlying lithium demand from China.
 
"China is really pushing EB vehicles and there is a lot of government support for it because at the end of the day China is number one in the auto market," Tan said.
 
"It has just started and realised that it can't afford to bring all that fossil fuel across to meet that and you know the environmental issues in China so the government has been very strong in pushing the renewable energy and driving EB cars."
 
Galaxy is also on the hunt to broaden its lithium footprint but is not interested in expanding into other minerals.
 
"We are looking at other projects around the world in other countries like the US, South America and Australia so we are actively looking but [have found] nothing at this stage," Tan said.
 
"We are looking at opportunities that involve cathode production or battery production or even just broadening our lithium footprint so anything in relation to lithium because we have a positive view on lithium being a metal going forward."
 
Mt Cattlin began producing in the September quarter with spodumene throughput to be progressively ramped up from its current production rate of 50,000tpa through to its capacity rate of 137,000tpa of spodumene concentrate at 6% lithium oxide.
 
Mt Cattlin mine will be the world's second-largest hard rock producer of lithium and, through its 17,000 tonne per annum Jiangsu lithium carbonate plant, will be the largest and lowest cost lithium producer in China.
 
The company will ship concentrate from Mt Cattlin through the port of Esperance with the first shipment expected in the last quarter this year or early next year.
 
"That will go through to several customers in China and then eventually go to our plant when it is completed," Tan said. "We expect to have that completed by second quarter next year."
 
The Mt Cattlin project will also bring much needed revenue for the Ravensthorpe community which was hit hard after BHP famously shut down the Ravensthorpe nickel laterite mine in January 2009, putting 800 employees and 1000 contractors out of work at the time.
 
"The local Ravensthorpe community has been incredibly supportive of Galaxy and we are very proud to have played a role in its revitalisation through the provision of local employment opportunities and flow-on benefits to local industry and businesses," Tan said.
 
The Mt Cattlin project employs up to 100 people and is expected to bring around $40 million to the region annually.