Liontown Resources achieves major milestone with first concentrate
First Production Delivered on Schedule at Kathleen Valley
Perth, July 31, 2024 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Liontown Resources Limited (
ASX:LTR) (LINRF:OTCMKTS) (LIS:FRA) reinforces its position as an emerging producer of high-quality, fully IRA-compliant, lithium raw materials, announcing today that first spodumene concentrate has been produced at Kathleen Valley.
Highlights
- First spodumene concentrate has been produced at Kathleen Valley, following the commissioning of the wet plant and end-to-end operation of the Kathleen Valley value chain.
- This achievement continues our track record of delivering major project milestones on schedule and arks the start of production ramp-up to nameplate throughput of 3Mtpa, currently expected by the end of Q1 CY2025.
- Our fourth-generation process plant utilises a 100% whole ore flotation flowsheet tailored to our orebody characteristics and was constructed in 18 months with a total of four million work hours recorded.
- The plant has been designed and constructed to the highest quality using Tier-1 equipment, engineers, and contractors, to deliver future cost competitiveness through improved reliability and better maintainability.
- First shipment of spodumene concentrate is planned for later this quarter Q3 CY2024.
Following progressive commissioning of the process plant, ore has been processed through the entire crushing, milling and flotation circuit, culminating in first concentrate produced.
With 216,000 tonnes of clean ore already mined to date from the Kathleen's Corner and Mt Mann open pits, and the primary ore zone in Kathleen's Corner scheduled to be mined starting in late August, Liontown's stockpile of clean ore for processing is well-positioned.
Liontown will now focus on completing the remaining commissioning activities in the non-critical path areas of the plant, concluding construction of critical underground infrastructure such as the Paste Fill plant and ramping up the process plant to 3Mtpa throughput. Full nameplate production of 3Mtpa is expected by the end of Q1 CY2025 with lithium recoveries expected to be optimised over the next 12-to-18-month period.
Further updates will be provided on the performance of Kathleen Valley in the September 2024 Quarterly Report.
Liontown's Managing Director and CEO, Tony Ottaviano, said:
"Two and a half years ago, we set ourselves the ambitious goal of achieving first production by mid-2024. Today, we have achieved it. "This is a monumental moment for Liontown and marks our transition from a construction project to a producer of high-quality lithium concentrate. "To have successfully constructed and commissioned a world-class lithium operation in two and a half years is a testament to the resilience and dedication of our entire team. We will commence delivery of spodumene concentrate to our customers in the coming weeks. "First production signals the start of our ramp-up towards 3Mtpa capacity and, in partnership with our tier-1 offtake customers, paves the way for us to pursue our long-term strategy to be a globally significant supplier of battery minerals as the world transitions to a low-carbon future."
About Liontown Resources Limited
Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) is an emerging Tier-1 battery minerals producer. Our aim is to be an ESG leader and a globally significant provider of battery minerals for the rapidly growing clean energy market. As we transition from explorer to producer, we are committed to incorporating the right approach and foundation from the outset and ESG principles underpin all decisions. We currently control two major lithium deposits in Western Australia and aim to expand our portfolio through exploration, partnerships and acquisitions. In addition, we look to participate in downstream value-adding where control of the deposit provides a strong competitive advantage.
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