First shipment from Kathleen Valley

Liontown Resources has dispatched its first shipment of spodumene concentrate from the Kathleen Valley lithium project in Western Australia.

The shipment, containing 11,855 wet metric tonnes (wmt) of concentrate with a 5.2 per cent of lithium oxide grade, departed the Port of Geraldton on September 27 aboard the MV Eckert Oldendorff.

This milestone marks the first revenue-generating shipment for Liontown from its flagship project.

“The successful shipment of concentrate from Kathleen Valley is a pivotal moment for the company,” Liontown managing director and chief executive officer Tony Ottaviano said.

“Over the past six years, Liontown has focused on developing and constructing a world-class Tier-1 lithium operation, and now we announce the beginning of generating revenue and cash flow, as we see our plans come to fruition.”

Liontown has started ramping up production at Kathleen Valley, having already produced more than 28,000wmt of concentrate to date.

Stockpiles continue to grow both at the site and the port as Liontown progresses toward steady-state production.

“Within two months of first production at Kathleen Valley, we have not only successfully produced and now shipped concentrate, but we have also achieved a sale on the spot market, realising a premium sales price in the current market conditions, and demonstrating the consistent demand for high-grade battery products,” Ottaviano said.

“This achievement underscores the strong planning capabilities and operational excellence of our team but also the support from our Tier-1 logistics partner Qube.”

In addition to its scheduled offtake commitments, Liontown also commenced spot sales, achieving a premium price of $US802 per dry metric tonne of spodumene from a Singapore-based trader, with shipment scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2024.

As Liontown continues to ramp up operations, it aims to fulfil strategic offtake agreements with major players such as LG, Tesla and Ford.