Western Australian lithium miner Liontown Resources has achieved a significant milestone with the dispatch of its maiden spodumene concentrate shipment from its Kathleen Valley operation.
The first shipment, currently in transit to China for an existing offtake customer, also marks the commencement of spot sales for spodumene concentrate from Kathleen Valley.
The first shipment of 11,855 wet metric tonnes (WMT) of spodumene concentrate was successfully loaded onto the MV Eckert Oldendorff and departed the port of Geraldton last Friday.
‘Pivotal moment’
Managing director and chief executive officer Tony Ottaviano said the successful shipment of concentrate from Kathleen Valley is a pivotal moment for the company.
“Over the past six years, Liontown has focused on developing and constructing a world-class tier-1 lithium operation and now we announce the beginning of generating revenue and cash flow, as we see our plans come to fruition,” Mr Ottaviano said.
“Within two months of first production at Kathleen Valley, we have not only successfully produced and now shipped concentrate with a weighted average lithium oxide content of 5.2% but we have also achieved a sale on the spot market, realising a premium sales price in the current market conditions and demonstrating the consistent demand for high-grade battery products.”
Growing stockpiles
Liontown continues to build stockpiles between site and the port, with over 28,000WMT of concentrate produced to date, reflecting a positive start to the ramp-up towards steady-state production.
The initial spot sale of 10,000t of spodumene concentrate to a Singapore-based trader achieved a premium price to spot of around $1,158 per dry metric tonne.
“As we look ahead, we continue our ramp-up progress towards steady-state production and remain committed to enhancing shareholder value with confidence in the long-term success of the Kathleen Valley lithium operations,” Mr Ottaviano added.
Successful history
Initially drilled in 2017, Kathleen Valley is located 680 kilometres north-east of Perth and has a current mineral resource estimate of 156Mt at 1.4% lithium oxide and 130 parts per million tantalum.
An ore reserve of 68.5Mt at 1.34% lithium oxide and 120ppm tantalum supports an expected mine life of over 20 years.
Liontown has executed initial five-year binding offtake agreements for Kathleen spodumene concentrate with Tier-1 customers in the electric vehicle battery supply chain including South Korea-based LG Energy Solution (LGES) and auto manufacturers Tesla and Ford.
LGES and Liontown recently formed a strategic partnership which extends their offtake agreement for an additional ten years, while the contract with Ford also includes an option to extend the agreement for a further five years by mutual agreement.
