PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Lithium miner Pilbara Minerals has reported a record quarter of production in the three months to June, with spodumene concentrate production up 10% on the previous quarter to 162 800 t.

Pilbara told shareholders this week that continued productivity improvements such as new equipment and optimisation of shift changeovers have underpinned improvements in mining activity.

The increase in concentrate production in the quarter was also driven by improvements in processing plant feed volumes and processing plant run-time, and improved lithium recoveries, compared with the previous quarter.

Spodumene concentrate sales increased by 22% in the fourth quarter ended June, to 176 300 t.

In the full year ended June, production was up by 64% on the previous financial year, to 620 100 t, while sales were up 68% to 607 500 t. Revenue in the quarter under review declined by 18% to A$0.8-billion, and in the full year increased by 238%, to A$4-billion, as realised prices in the quarter declined by 33%, but improved by 87% in the full year.

Free-on-board unit operating costs in the quarter declined by 1%, to A$628/t, but were 11% higher in the full year to A$613/t.

Pilbara said this week that construction work on the P680 expansion project at the Pilgangoora operation continued during the quarter, with the company prioritising the construction of the primary rejection facilities that would deliver the incremental uplift in production capacity of 100 000 t/y with some resourcing diverted from the crushing and ore sorting facility.

Commissioning of the primary rejection facility remains on target for the September quarter, with full capacity targeted for the end of the December quarter. Commissioning of the new crushing and ore sorting facility is expected by the June quarter of next year, instead of the March quarter as previously advised, while ramp-up is scheduled for the September quarter of next year.

Pilbara also took a final investment decision on the P1000 project at Pilgangoora, which would increase the nameplate capacity at Pilgangoora by 47%, from around 680 000 t/y to one-million tonnes a year of spodumene concentrate, and would include an expanded concentrator with increased throughput at the Pilgan plant, as well as a range of supporting site infrastructure.

First ore from the expanded operation is targeted for the third quarter of the 2025 financial year.

Pilbara told shareholders that a partnership process has started for a potential downstream joint venture (JV) for up to 300 000 t/y of future unallocated spodumene concentrate from the P1000 expansion.

Meanwhile, procurement and construction work on the 43 000 t/y lithium hydroxide monohydrate chemical facility in South Korea continued during the quarter.

The JV with POSCO is expected to start commissioning from the 21 500 t/y Train 1 by the third quarter of the 2024 financial year, with the project 35% complete. Train 2 is now over 65% complete, and commissioning is expected in the second quarter of the 2024 financial year.