MinRes confirms $US600m lithium spend

Mineral Resources has forecast a capital expenditure of $US600 million ($792 million) to build two lithium hydroxide processing modules at its Wodgina mine in the Pilbara, after announcing plans to sell a minority stake in the project earlier this month.

The company confirmed its internal projects team had estimated it could build two 28,000 tonne lithium hydroxide modules for approximately $US300 million ($394 million) per module.

“In making this estimate, the company used publicly available information regarding the cost of other similar lithium hydroxide plants,” MinRes said in a statement to the ASX today.

“As previously announced, the downstream lithium processing plant to be constructed at Wodgina is the subject of a feasibility study and the company will provide a further update to the market once that study is complete.”

Earlier this month, the company said it was aiming to sell a 49 per cent stake in the Wodgina project, about 100 kilometres south of Port Hedland.

MinRes has been direct shipping lithium ores from Wodgina since February 2017, but is building beneficiation capacity and considering construction of a refinery.

Production of spodumene concentrate from the first stage of a three-phase lithium concentration plant will begin in October.

Stage two will begin production of concentrate in December, and stage three in March next year.

All up, the plant will have an annual capacity of 750,000 tonnes of 6 per cent spodumene concentrate.

Shares in MinRes finished off 1.8 per cent at $17.66 each.