Wildcat Resources is progressing its pre-feasibility study (PFS) for its Tabba Tabba lithium project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with roughly 50 per cent of the study completed.
The Tabba Tabba PFS is based on an open-pit mining operation delivering ore to a run-of-mine (ROM) pad for processing through a flotation process plant in order to produce a spodumene concentrate for export.
In November 2024, Wildcat revealed the maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) for Tabba Tabba.
The MRE stands at 74.1 million tonnes (Mt) at one per cent lithium oxide, with 94 per cent of the resource falling under the indicated category when using a 0.45 per cent lithium oxide cut-off grade. This makes Tabba Tabba Australia’s largest undeveloped publicly reported hard rock spodumene resource.
Since November, Wildcat has accelerated various works at Tabba Tabba.
The company has acquired the right to apply for exploration license applications covering tenements near Tabba Tabba. Wildcat hopes these tenements will provide additional ground to situate project infrastructure and undertake further exploration.
Wildcat has also secured a general purpose lease to undertake proposed activities for its granted mining leases and has applied for several miscellaneous licences to establish supporting infrastructure such as an additional site access road at Tabba Tabba.
A successful baseline environmental monitoring and survey program was completed in 2024, with targeted surveys scheduled for 2025.
Exploration remains a priority at Tabba Tabba, with 518 soil samples and 649 rock chips already collected to generate further exploration targets.
A diamond drill rig is currently on-site targeting extensions to known resources. Wildcat will collect samples to carry out detailed metallurgical work from within the existing resource envelope.
Wildcat has also completed 75 per cent of Tabba’s Tabba stage two metallurgical testwork. Stage one previously delivered 79–84 per cent recoveries, producing a 5.5 per cent lithium concentrate.
“The large high-confidence mineral resource delivered by Wildcat’s geology team in November 2024 has provided an excellent foundation on which to prepare a robust PFS for the Tabba Tabba lithium project,” Wildcat general manager project development James Dornan said.
“Many of the building blocks of the PFS studies were started as early as February 2024 and this has allowed us to proceed through the PFS very efficiently. We look forward to further de-risking the project through 2025.”
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