UPDATED August 2026
Kings Mountain Lithium Mine Map
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The Kings Mountain Lithium Mine sits directly off Interstate 85 in Cleveland County, North Carolina, about 35 miles west of Charlotte and 4 miles north of the South Carolina border. The 1,250-acre property borders South Battleground Avenue and Kings Mountain Road, with a water-filled legacy quarry pit located immediately south of downtown Kings Mountain.
Why Kings Mountain Lithium Mine matters right now
The approval clears the path to dewater the flooded open pit and build a mineral processing plant engineered to produce 420,000 metric tons of spodumene concentrate per year.
The site anchors the Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt, a geologic formation that supplied most of the western world's lithium between 1950 and 1988 before lower-cost South American brine operations forced its closure in 1994. A 90 million dollar Department of Defense contract and 150 million dollars in Department of Energy grants are backing the reopening to establish domestic raw material supplies for batteries.
Dewatering the quarry pit requires 18 months of water treatment and pumping. Albemarle plans to create 300 permanent operational jobs and run open-pit extraction for 10 to 30 years before converting the pit into a public park and recreational lake.
Watch the history and mine development plans while tracking key site footprints on the interactive map
History of the Kings Mountain Mine
Details how Solvay began mining the site in 1942 for WWII airplane grease and Foote supplied the Atomic Energy Commission until 1959
Kings Mountain Mine 101
Breaks down the 4 development phases from core drilling and baseline environmental monitoring to concentrator construction and pit reclamation
US seeks new lithium sources as demand grows
Explains how the 2023 Pentagon grant and battery supply mandates pushed Kings Mountain to the front of domestic critical mineral policy
FAQ
When will active lithium mining resume at Kings Mountain
Federal permits were finalized in March 2026. Albemarle must complete 18 months of pit dewatering followed by 2.5 years of facility construction before commercial ore extraction begins.
How much lithium will the Kings Mountain site produce
The planned on-site concentrator will process 3.1 million tons of run-of-mine ore per year. This will generate about 420,000 metric tons of commercial spodumene concentrate annually.
Who owns and operates the Kings Mountain Lithium Mine
Albemarle Corporation owns the site after acquiring Rockwood Holdings in 2015. Solvay Process Company originally opened the hard-rock mine in 1942, followed by Foote Mineral Company in 1951.
What environmental protections and reclamation plans are in place
Albemarle is monitoring groundwater, dust, noise, and local streams under North Carolina DEQ and Army Corps of Engineers permits. After 10 to 30 years of mining, the pit will be refilled with clean water and converted into a public recreation area.
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