Name of the Project
Pilgangoora lithium/tantalum expansion project.

Location
Western Australia.

Client
Pilbara Minerals.

Project Description
A prefeasibility study has outlined a compelling business case for starting the expansion of the Pilgangoora lithium/tantalum project at five-million tonnes a year of run-of-mine ore production and processing capacity within months of starting production of spodumene concentrate from the two-million-tonne-a-year Stage 1 operation.

The project has proven and probable reserves of 80.3-million tonnes grading 1.27% lithium oxide (Li₂O), 123 parts per million of tantalum pentoxide (Ta₂O₅) and 1.08% iron oxide.

The plant expansion will entail modifications to expand the existing Stage 1 circuit to 2.5-million tonnes a year (Train 1), and the construction of a similar 2.5-million-tonne-a-year circuit (Train 2) to achieve a total nameplate capacity of five-million tonnes a year.

Production of about 800 000 t/y of high-quality spodumene concentrate is expected once the plant has achieved nameplate capacity of five-million tonnes a year.

The flowsheet has been designed to target two product streams – chemical-grade spodumene at 6% Li₂O and low iron; and tantalite concentrate at 25% to 30% Ta₂O₅.

Tailings are expected to be produced at 65% to 68% solids concentration at 4.25-million tonnes a year (Stage 2) for the life-of-mine, with the total storage requirement increasing from 58.8-million tonnes to 68.3-million tonnes.

The tailings management facility (TMF) will be expanded by increasing the height of cells 1, 2 and 3 on the original integrated waste landform design on a staged basis.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The Stage 2 expansion project has an after-tax net present value, at a 10% discount rate, of A$2.1-billion and an internal rate of return of 56%, with a payback of three years.

Value
Stage 2 has a capital development estimate of A$207-million.

Duration
Construction is expected to start by the fourth quarter of 2018 and commissioning from the fourth quarter of 2019.

Latest Developments
Ore commissioning has started at the crushing facilities at Pilgangoora, with the project set to deliver its first concentrate by the end of June.
 
In parallel with the start of load commissioning of the crusher, construction of the overall processing plant for Pilgangoora is progressing towards completion, with subsets of the plant’s circuits being completed daily, in preparation for the start of the main concentrator commissioning in the coming weeks.

The company has  told shareholders that consistent with its plans to deliver direct shipping ore (DSO), the Pilgangoora Monster pit and associated infrastructure are now fully established on site, with mine gate ore deliveries having started to fellow-listed Atlas Iron during late April.

Under the terms of the agreement, Pilbara will deliver a minimum of one-million tonnes of unprocessed run-of-mine lithium/tantalum material to Atlas on a mine gate sale basis, based on a delivery schedule that is designed to enabler Atlas to ship 100 000 t/m of DSO to offtake customers.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Pilbara Minerals, tel +61 8 6266 6266 or fax +61 8 6266 6288.