KALGOORLIE (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Global Lithium is considering a direct shipping ore (DSO) option at its Manna lithium project, in Western Australia, ahead of the start of spodumene concentrate production.

Speaking ahead of the Diggers & Dealers conference in Kalgoorlie, Global CFO Matthew Allen said the company was considering a DSO operation of up to 500 000 t/y with an operational life of between 18 and 24 months, while the concentration plant for the greater Manna project is being built.

An assessment of the DSO potential at Manna will form part of the definitive feasibility study (DFS) for a larger project, with the DFS due later this year.

The board of Global Lithium is expected to take a decision on a potential DSO operation by the fourth quarter of this year, with DSO shipments likely to take place as early as 2025.

Allen said that the only way Manna would consider the DSO operation was if it made commercial sense, with the company looking for an offtake partner to cover at least half of the capital cost required to bring the DSO project to fruition.

A final investment decision (FID) on the spodumene concentrate operation at Manna is expected in mid-2024, with construction likely to take 22 months, with first spodumene concentrate targeted for production in 2026.

A previously completed scoping study into Manna estimated that the project could support the production of 2.2-million tonnes of spodumene concentrate over a ten-year mine life, based on a mineral resource estimate of 32.1-million tonnes at 1% lithium oxide, and a concentrator nameplate capacity of two-million tonnes a year of run-of-mine ore, with the project producing 221 000 t/y of spodumene.

Global in July upgraded the project’s Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resource to 36-million tonnes at 1.13% lithium oxide.

The company will this year also spend A$9-million on a 50 000 m drilling campaign at Manna.

At the end of the June quarter, Global had A$62-million cash at bank, with Allen saying the company was fully funded until an FID at Manna.