The news: Lithium miner Liontown has dispatched its inaugural shipment of spodumene concentrate from its flagship Kathleen Valley operation in Western Australia.
The numbers: The shipment comprised 11,855 wet metric tonnes (WMT) of spodumene concentrate, for delivery to an existing offtake customer in China.
Liontown also announced its first spot sale for uncontracted production, with an initial spot sale of 10,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate to a Singapore-based trader at US$802 ($1,159.97) per dry metric tonne, with shipment scheduled for early Q4 in the 2024 calendar year.
The Perth-based miner, which counts billionaire Gina Rinehart as a key shareholder, said it continues to progress ramp-up milestones at the project, having produced more than 28,000 WMT of concentrate since announcing first production.
The context: Liontown said the operational performance of both the processing plant and logistics chain continues to be in line with expectations, following commencement of production this quarter.
The miner said the first shipment is a “pivotal milestone” for the company as a lithium producer and marks the beginning of generating revenue from the Kathleen Valley operations.
Liontown said that in addition to the spot and ramp up tonnes sales, it will progressively commence fulfilling its strategic offtake agreements with LG Energy Solution, Tesla and Ford.
What they said: “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,” Liontown’s managing director and CEO Tony Ottaviano said.
“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.”
30.09.2024
