Australia’s next lithium mine is set to be constructed after Liontown Resources achieved the final primary approvals for its Kathleen Valley lithium project in Western Australia.
Liontown received WA Government approval for Kathleen Valley’s mining proposal and mine closure plan, and works approval from the WA Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER).
This enables Liontown to commence major site activities at Kathleen Valley, with construction expected to ramp up soon and continue throughout 2023. Completion and commissioning is targeted by the end of the second quarter of 2024.
The initial 2.5-million-tonne-per-annum (Mtpa) Kathleen Valley project will deliver 500,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of spodumene concentrate at 6 per cent lithia.
Liontown plans to expand this to 4Mtpa/700,000tpa of spodumene concentrate within six years.
“With all key enabling permits now in place, our development team can move ahead at full pace to begin major site construction activities,” Liontown managing director and chief executive officer Tony Ottaviano said.
“This is a very exciting time for everyone involved with the company, and shareholders can look forward to steadily increasing news flow in the weeks and months ahead as we move into the full-scale commercial development phase.”
Overseen by Ottaviano and mining magnate and Liontown chair Tim Goyder, Liontown’s rise has been significant.
In December 2021, the company launched a $450 million institutional placement to underpin Kathleen Valley’s development.
Liontown has since inked three foundational offtake agreements with LG Energy Solution, Tesla and Ford Motor Company, meaning 90 per cent of Kathleen Valley’s output is now committed to offtake partnerships.
The company made a final investment decision (FID) in June, before awarding the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract to Lycopodium in July.
In September, Liontown executed a letter of award (LOA) with Zenith Energy for the development of what is expected to be the largest off-grid wind-solar-battery storage hybrid power station for a mining project in Australia.
The 95-megawatt (MW) hybrid power station has the capacity to generate 46MW of emissions-free power generation.