PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A scoping study into the Manna lithium project, in Western Australia, has found that the project could support the production of 2.2-million tonnes of spodumene concentrate over a ten-year mine life.

ASX-listed Global Lithium Resources based the scoping study 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.

The scoping study estimated that the project would require a capital investment of A$436.4-million and would deliver a pretax net present value of A$2.8-billion and an internal rate of return of 103%, with a pay-back period of 15 months.

“The results of the scoping study show the true quality and real potential of the Manna lithium project. The exploration team worked extremely hard throughout 2022 to provide a solid foundation for the Manna lithium project delivering an upgraded resource of 32.7-million tonnes at 1.0% lithium oxide. The company also acquired 100% ownership of the project late last year, which enables our shareholders to fully benefit from this outstanding asset,” said Global Lithium MD Ron Mitchell.

“The Global Lithium board is delighted with the robustness of the project and its resilience to multiple factors that the resource industry is experiencing here in Western Australia with increasing cost escalation and market conditions. The development team will now diligently progress all the necessary technical components and engineering work streams to ensure the project is sufficiently de-risked allowing the company to progress to a final investment decision next year.

“The board has unanimously resolved for the project to proceed directly to formal feasibility, due to the compelling economics and the continuing strong lithium market fundamentals.”

A mineral resource update at Manna, incorporating an additional 30 000 m of drilling, is expected to be announced this year and will form the basis of the definitive feasibility study.