The first open-pit blast has been fired at Liontown Resources’ Kathleen Valley lithium mine after the company announced the project's $300 million cost blowout last month.
The first open-pit blast has been fired at Liontown Resources’ Kathleen Valley lithium mine after the company announced the project's $300 million cost blowout last month.
Liontown announced today that mining services provider Iron Mine Contracting has begun open-pit mining activities at the northern Goldfields mine site.
The milestone blast comes after Liontown announced the project’s costs had blown out more than $300 million due to optimisation, additional scope and cost escalation.
The Kathleen Valley project's estimated capital costs to first production from the process plant increased to $895 million inclusive of $40 million in contingency.
The original cost was estimated at $473 million, which was later increased to $545 million, according to Liontown's June 2022 announcement.
Iron Mine Contracting will be providing drilling and blasting, loading and hauling of ore and waste, haul road construction, maintenance and pit dewatering services at Kathleen’s Mt Mann and corner open pits.
The contractor will also construct the tailings storage facility at the Kathleen Valley project.
The maiden blast at Kathleen’s Mt Mann open pit was in an area containing mostly waste rock, which will be used as bulk fill for construction of the run of mine (ROM) pad.
The small amount of ore generated from the blast will be used to sheet the ROM pad once constructed.
Liontown chief executive Tony Ottaviano said completion of the first blast and start of open-pit mining operations was a significant milestone for the company.
He said the move signified its transition from explorer to mining operator.
“Achieving this milestone ahead of schedule is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the Liontown and Iron Mining Contracting teams,” Mr Ottaviano said.
“We are excited to be working with the experienced team at Iron Mine Contracting.
“We have every confidence in their ability to deliver results and look forward to partnering with them to bring our Kathleen Valley Lithium project to life.”
In the announcement, Liontown said it planned to expand its Kathleen Corner open pit to produce more ore than the definitive feasibility study estimated, and the Mt Mann open pit would be reduced to a large box-cut.
On the market, Liontown Resources shares were up 0.32 per cent to trade at $1.58 at 3.23pm at AEDT.
