The December 2024 quarter marked the continued ramp-up of Liontown Resources’ Kathleen Valley lithium operation in Western Australia.
A total of 88,683 dry metric tonnes (dmt) of spodumene concentrate was produced during the quarter, with 81,341dmt shipped to customers such as LG Energy Solution.
These operations resulted in Liontown delivering $16.7 million in net cash from operating activities, $89.8 million in sales revenue and $192.9 million in cash for the period ending December 31 2024.
“Liontown has continued to make strong progress at Kathleen Valley during the December 2024 quarter, with the ramp-up of production continuing to meet, and in some areas exceed expectations,” Liontown managing director and chief executive officer Tony Ottaviano said.
“We are now a fully operational producer, having shipped over 100,000 wet metric tonnes of spodumene concentrate to customers since the commencement of production at the end of July 2024.
“Notably, the company generated positive net cash from operations in the first full quarter since we commenced production, in July 2024. Our performance this quarter reinforces that Liontown is firmly on track to achieve its ambition of becoming an established world-class producer in the lithium sector.”
Safety was another highlight for Liontown, with the company’s low lost time injury frequency rate equalling 0.66 and its total reportable injury frequency rate decreasing to 4.59 from the previous quarter’s 5.68.
Underground mining at Kathleen Valley also progressed to plan, with a record 1902 development metres achieved during the quarter at an average rate of 317m per jumbo per month.
Approximately 1.3 million tonnes of ore was stockpiled at the end of the quarter for the transition from open pit to underground mining.
Ottaviano said as Liontown continues to navigate the global lithium downturn primarily triggered by a supply surplus caused by increased cheaper lithium from countries with less stringent environmental, social and governance standards, the focus will remain on continuous improvement and ongoing optimisation at Kathleen Valley.
“We remain focused on concluding our processing plant ramp-up, starting underground stoping production and lifting processing plant performance,” he said.
First stoping ore is expected to be achieved in the fourth quarter of the 2024–25 financial year.
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