About Alessandro Dazza
Alessandro Dazza, CEO of Imerys, announced a joint venture with British Lithium Limited on June 29, 2023, to create what he described as the UK's first integrated producer of battery-grade lithium carbonate. Dazza stated that the partnership aims to produce 20,000 tons of lithium in Cornwall, which he said would allow 500,000 cars to become electric, and would be done with jobs and investments in a sustainable and responsible way. He noted that the venture merges the best of both companies, praising British Lithium's entrepreneurial spirit and their pilot plant that has produced battery-grade lithium, while Imerys contributes a large deposit with enough lithium for at least 30 years, land, and expertise in scaling up mining activities.
Dazza has also discussed Imerys' digital transformation efforts. In a 2019 presentation, he described the company as a siloed organization that had grown through acquisitions, with 250 IT systems and 30 different intranets. He said that Imerys embarked on a digital transformation in 2017, resulting in a single global intranet and newsletter, which he described as a go-to place for news that is fully integrated with their newsletter tool. He also noted that the platform was used for CEO communications, including live-streamed webinars and videos, and that it allowed for personalization and simplified employee engagement.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Alessandro Dazza's recent appearances.
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Transcript (2 segments)
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Alessandro Dazza0:02
First, thanks for joining us here. I know some of you came from far away. It is a beautiful place, so I'm sure it's not too much of a burden, and even the weather was very nice with us today. What do we announce today? I think two things: first of all, a partnership between British Lithium and Imerys. Second, we announced an incredible opportunity to produce lithium in this country, in Cornwall. Twenty thousand tons of lithium will allow 500 cars to become electric. It will be done here, will be done with jobs, with investments, in a sustainable, responsible way from an environmental point of view, social point of view. So for me, it's a great opportunity. My last word is: we merge the best of two companies. I have appreciated the entrepreneurial spirits of The Smiths. What is behind you is a very good piece of equipment, a pilot plant that has produced lithium battery grade that you can use to build a battery, and believe me, it is not easy. But they have done it. They've done studies on the deposit for several years now. All of this is their contribution. On our site, we're bringing a huge deposit right behind the hill that contains enough lithium for at least 30 years of activity. We bring land, we bring our expertise in scaling up, in building large mining activities, large plants. It accelerates the joint work will accelerate the success of this project. I really see only advantages in this partnership. Of course, we will need more. We are at the beginning of a journey. We will need the support of the people, some are here, the authorities local and regional. A long way to go, but you have to start, and I think we're starting with the right foot. Thank you.
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Co-Panelist2:17
Thank you, Alessandro. Welcome to your lithium project. You know, it's been a long six years in many ways, and many of you have stuck with us through that time with an uncertain outcome. And I couldn't honestly be more happy with the outcome that's come about today. Imerys is very important to the lithium industry of the UK. They have an unrivaled land position here and they have the people. They also have something embodied in Alessandro: the sophistication and gravitas that you need to bring about a project of this size. This is a massive undertaking, it's very substantial, it involves a wide range of risks of different types, but we believe between us we know how to overcome those risks and make this project a reality. I wouldn't be trying to open a coal mine right now, but the great thing about lithium is the world understands the need for it and that it's a solution for pressing climate emergency. Governments around the world are united in bringing about electrification, renewable power, electric vehicles to reduce emissions. And we're lucky to have joined us today at a round table a number of senior civil servants from the UK government, and it's heartening and inspiring to hear the policies that they've put in place, the intellect, the rigor with which they have brought about a critical mineral strategy and other funding initiatives. And of course we're very happy in front of an audience to thank His Majesty's government through these organs for the support they gave. When we found this deposit, there's no known means of extracting the lithium in an environmentally sustainable way. We had to develop such a thing. Given the risk of success, it would have been very hard to justify the cost of the years it took to do that, but the government gave us that support, and I think we saw today that the government support will be ongoing. They are there to make sure a lithium battery industry is built, the whole supply chain is built within the UK, and the UK car industry electrifies successfully. So thank you to the staff who have been so patient through already through this transition. I think we're all very excited to be working within Rhys to be part of the Imerys group. And I think one of the nicest things that's been said today, a number of shareholders and employees have said, 'Do these Imerys people are nice?' And they actually are. And they need to be in some way, not everybody is, but Imerys has an amazing team. Everyone I've met is first class, very intelligent, very good at their job, and I think have been very welcoming to us into the family. So we of course welcome them to our family. Thank you, Alessandro. Thank you. And we will... Thank you very much.
