The total ore reserve for Core Lithium’s BP33 lithium project has increased by 223 per cent, providing a strong footing for the project’s restart.
The total ore reserve now stands at 8.7 million tonnes (Mt) at 1.38 per cent lithium oxide, while the Grants open pit ore reserve has decreased to 0.6Mt at 1.40 per cent lithium oxide due to mining depletion and operational adjustments.
The changes bring the overall ore reserves for the Finniss lithium operation to 9.3Mt at 1.38 per cent lithium oxide, which Core Lithium said aligns with the restart study areas of focus: BP33 and Grants.
The lithium miner also said Finniss’ total ore reserve underpins a “simpler project” with a 9.5-year notional operating life at the rate of the existing one-million-tonne-per-annum Finniss process infrastructure.
“The updated ore reserve for our lithium assets around Finniss in the Northern Territory represents the next step in the reset of our future operating strategy,” Core Lithium chief executive officer Paul Brown said.
“This estimate reflects the changes in lithium market conditions since our last ore reserves update and is consolidated around the high-grade BP33 deposit. The ore reserve for BP33 has more than doubled, underpinning a projected life of over nine years at the currently installed processing capacity.”
Prior to the suspension of BP33 and Grants in January, BP33’s box cut and site establishment was well underway, with excavation of the final bench of the box cut almost complete.
Brown said the Core Lithium team is maintaining the site to ensure the development can continue sometime in the future.
They are also carrying out drilling to further grow the resources and uncover new deposits similar to BP33.
“This new ore reserve supports our strategy for a simpler, lower-cost, and more sustainable operating platform for Core Lithium,” Brown said.
“Restart studies are progressing to develop the execution plan.”
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