PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Pilbara Minerals will take a final investment decision on the restart of the former Altura Mining’s lithium assets in Western Australia.
Pilbara in January this year completed the $175-million acquisition, gaining ownership of Altura’s Pilgangoora lithium project, which was promptly renamed Ngungaju.
Pilbara Minerals MD and CEO Ken Brinsden told delegates at Paydirt’s Battery Minerals Conference, in Perth, that studies were currently under way to improve the performance of and integrate the Ngungaju project into its own Pilgangoora operation.
The Ngungaju plant, which is currently on care and maintenance, has nameplate capacity of some 206 000 t/y. By restarting the Ngungaju project, Pilbara’s output from the current 330 000 t/y of spodumene concentrate, to some 580 000 t/y, with plant improvements at the Pilgangoora operation to account for some 50 000 t/y of this additional output.
Brinsden said that there was "some work" to be done before restarting the Ngungaju operations, with a "little bit of investment and a little bit of time" required.
Subject to a positive final investment decision, the restart operations are expected to start in the December quarter, with stockpiled transitional ore to be used to provide a rolling re-start at lower throughput.
Ngungaju is expected to ramp up to nameplate production from January next year onwards.