Production within sight for Liontown

Liontown Resources continues to move closer to the first production of spodumene concentrate at its Kathleen Valley lithium project, following a positive March 2024 quarter.

As it stands, Kathleen Valley - located in the northern Goldfields region of Western Australia - is 85 per cent complete, while the site's process plant 90 per cent finalised. 

A number of wet plant milestones were ticked off during the quarter, while commissioning of the dry plant began late last month.

Monday's announcement follows on from news last month that Tony Ottaviano-led Liontown telling the market that it had secured a revised $550 million debt facility for the project - with the syndicate of lenders comprised of major banks and government credit agencies. 

This value shrunk from $760 million in January, after the company's debt funding commitment letter was terminated, in light of the lithium pricing market taking a hit. In a busy month for Liontown, US-based Albermarle also walked away from its takeover plans, due to Gina Rinehart-backed Hancock Prospecting acquiring a 19.9 per cent stake in Liontown.

With staff numbers at Kathleen Valley now exceeding 900, Mr Ottaviano said he was confident the operation has a bright future. 

"We remain confident in our ability to deliver our Tier-1 lithium project on budget and schedule to first production by mid-2024," he said. 

“The execution of the $550 million debt package was significant, providing access to capital to see Kathleen Valley into first production, ramp-up to 3 million tonnes per annum and positive cashflow.

"Securing capital from a leading international and domestic syndicate, as well as government agencies, further reinforces the strength of the underlying technical and financial qualities of Kathleen Valley and provides a very strong endorsement of our project.

“As announced during the quarter, we are currently reviewing and examining the options for deferring the 4mtpa mine expansion until market conditions improve." 

Liontown closed trade at $1.21 per share, up 8 per cent.