PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Lithium miner Altura Mining has declared commercial production at its Stage 1 Altura mine, in Western Australia.
“This is one of the most significant milestones in the company’s history,” said MD James Brown.
“In less that two years, we have taken this project from the first sod-turning to full production, which is a monumental achievement and testament to the hard work and efforts of the entire Altura team.”
The Stage 1 operation has a nameplate capacity of 220 000 t/y of spodumene concentrate, equating to some 645 t/d, and an overall lithium recovery of 80%.
Brown noted that production in recent weeks has delivered an average of 541 t/d, representing some 84% of nameplate, with production in March to date averaging 612 t/d, or 95% of nameplate.
“Our focus now is to ensure the mining, processing plant and logistics chain are operating as efficiently as possible and our customers are getting the best quality product we can produce,” Brown added.