PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Commercial production has been declared at the Bald Hill lithium mine, in Western Australia.
Joint venture (JV) partners Tawana Resources and Alliance Mineral Assets were now targeting a production of between 60 000 t and 75 000 t of spodumene concentrate for the six months between July and December.
ASX-listed Tawana said on Thursday that plant performance has achieved higher than the 161 t/h nameplate, with rates averaging 206 t/h in recent weeks, having reached up to 230 t/h.
Further modifications were also planned with the view to achieve average throughput rates of up to 240 t/h, and the JV partners are now assessing the viability of constructing a second dense media separation (DMS) circuit, in addition to the proposed fines circuit.
“This confirms the successful ramp-up of the plant and the achievement of commercial production within five months of commencement of ore commissioning,” said Tawana MD Mark Calderwood.
“Operational focus has shifted to plant optimisation and the review of options to further increase throughput in the existing plant and add a second DMS circuit in addition to a fines circuit.”
Bald Hill shipped its first spodumene concentrate in May this year, following the successful commissioning and continued ramp-up of the project, which started production in March.
The A$42.2-million Bald Hill project is expected to deliver 155 000 t/y of spodumene concentrate and 260 000 lb/y of tantalum pentoxide over a mine life of 3.6 years.