PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Kalium Lakes on Wednesday told shareholders that the company would require additional long-term funding for its Beyondie sulphate of potash (SoP) project over the next two financial years, to achieve its targeted production rate of between 90 000 t/y and 100 000 t/y.

“As we continue to progress our plant performance improvement plan, Kalium Lakes has undertaken a comprehensive review of our production targets during the quarter that reflects the operating learnings gained over the last 12 months. The revised production targets, operating cost estimates and ramp-up period reflect the targeted plant performance improvement plan (PPIP) efforts implemented, and the additional capital works identified by our review,” said acting CEO Jason Morin.

The company noted that following the recent review of its production ramp-up pathway, Kalium Lakes was now targeting a 55 000 t/y production rate during the December 2023 quarter, down from the previous target of 60 000 t/y by July 2023, following the installation and optimisation of the second heat exchanger in July in conjunction with the other areas of the PPIP.

Beyondie’s PPIP implementation remains in progress and involves systematic investigation, modification and optimisation in the schoenite and flotation circuits with a focus on temperature control, conditioning, froth mobility and aeration, the company said.

Additionally, further improvements to the plant and production output will also be pursued, Kalium Lakes said, with the nameplate production capacity rate of 90 000 t/y now targeted for the September quarter of 2024.

To ramp up and sustain production targets over the longer term, additional capital works have been identified for the three main operating areas of brine supply, ponds operations and the SoP plant. These capital works are required to target yearly production output of approximately 50 000 t/y to 60 000 t/y in the 2024 financial year, Kalium Lakes told shareholders.

The review of the targeted production ramp-up profile has also identified increases in production resource requirements and inflationary cost pressures contributing to expected increases in operating costs.

Kalium Lakes has now appointed Argonaut as an independent financial adviser to explore potential strategic and corporate opportunities to reposition the company and its capital structure for the longer term, or to otherwise maximise value.

In the meantime, the company’s share trade will remain suspended.