Name of the Project
Kathleen Valley lithium/tantalum project.

Location
The project is located in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia.

Project Owner/s
Liontown Resources.

Project Description
Kathleen Valley has an ore reserve estimate of 71-million tonnes at 1.4% lithium oxide and 130 parts per million tantalum pentoxide, underpinning an initial 40-year mine life.

The prefeasibility study (PFS) envisages the establishment of a two-million-tonne-a-year mining and whole-of-ore flotation processing operation delivering 350 000 t/y of spodumene concentrate, or SC6.0, at a grade of 6% lithium oxide and 430 t/y of 30% grade tantalum concentrate.

The PFS includes a 4.4 MW solar array to supplement plant power requirements.

The PFS design includes key capital considerations on the initial mine and the processing plant to allow for a throughput expansion to four-million tonnes a year, with negligible future operational impact on the base case presented.

Potential Job Creation
None stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a post-tax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of A$1.12-billion and an internal rate of return of 37%, with a payback of three years.

Capital Expenditure
The project has a capital cost of A$325-million, including A$67-million in preproduction costs.

Planned Start/End Date
First production is expected to start in the first quarter of 2025.

Latest Developments
A definitive feasibility study is expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Optiro (geology and mineral resource estimate); Orelogy Consulting (mine optimisation, planning, design and scheduling); ALS Metallurgy (process testwork); Lycopodium Minerals (process and infrastructure design, capital expenditure and operating expenditure); Knight Piésold (tailings and hydrogeology); MBS Environmental (environmental studies); Peter O’Bryan and Associates (geomechanical engineering).

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