Name of the Project
Kathleen Valley lithium/tantalum project.

Location
The project is located in Western Australia’s north-eastern goldfields.

Client
Liontown Resources.

Project Description
A scoping study has demonstrated the potential of the Kathleen Valley project to support a viable standalone lithium mining and processing operation.

The scoping study outlines a base case two-million-tonne-a-year development with the potential to produce about 360 000 t/y of spodumene concentrate over an initial eight- to nine-year mine life.

The project has a life-of-mine production target of 15.7-million tonnes of ore.

The Kathleen Valley Project process plant consists of a mineral processing concentrator with associated services and ancillaries. It includes:
• three-stage crushing;
• two-stage dense-medium separation (DMS) to produce a primary concentrate, a coarse tail and a middling product for further treatment;
• ball milling of the Middling product;
• three-stage flotation to produce a fine • concentrate and fine tails;
• rod milling and gravity/magnetic separation to produce a tantalum concentrate;
• thickening and filtration of the concentrate;
• coarse and tails disposal; and
• reagents and services.

The coarse tail from the DMS plant will be loaded onto trucks and placed in the waste stockpile area. The fine tail from the flotation plant will be thickened and then pumped to a separate storage facility.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an after-tax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of between A$316-million and A$526-million, with a base case of A$421-million and an internal rate of return of 38%. Payback is estimated at less than three years.

Value
The project is estimated at A$232.2-million.

Duration
It is currently estimated that construction could start in 2021 with first production in 2022.

Latest Developments
The Liontown board has approved the start of further studies and metallurgical testwork to support a feasibility study, as well as a new drilling programme aimed at significantly expanding the current mineral resource estimate. The feasibility study is expected to be completed in 2020.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Optiro (geology and resources); Orelogy Consulting (optimisation and mining); Nagrom (process testwork); Lycopodium Minerals (process and infrastructure design, capital and operating expenditures); Knight Piésold (tailings management facilities); AQ2 (hydrology and hydrogeology); and MBS and Botania (environmental studies).

On Budget and on Time?
Too early to state.

Contact Details for Project Information
Liontown Resources, tel +61 8 9322 7431 or email info@ltresources.com.au.