Liontown achieves first positive cashflow on strong China demand
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: Liontown chief executive officer Tony Ottaviano said the company is transitioning to a self-funded model as it shifts to fully underground operations, supported by stronger demand in China and improving lithium prices.
The context: Speaking at the Macquarie conference in Sydney, Ottaviano told attendees that his company saw its strongest financial quarter since production commenced.
“We’re self funded for the first time, we’ve ticked the box around better grade, ticked the box around all hygiene, and now it’s about optimising the plant to accommodate 100% underground ore,” he said.
He added that the company is in a good position to push towards a 2.8 million tonne target after reporting $55 million in positive cashflow from operating activities in the March quarter, saying “This is pushing the self funding drive as we move into the next quarter”.
On the topic of China, Ottaviano said that he is seeing expansion plans across the board, not only from refiners but also automobile manufacturers. He noted five different vectors for lithium demand in the region, spanning from electric vehicles and stationary batteries to robotics. An improvement in the spodumene price during the quarter also boosted the company’s performance.
Summarising his presentation, Ottaviano said “We are set up for sustainable growth. We’ve got a tier one asset in a tier one jurisdiction, we’ve self funded, and we’re self funded for growth.”
“So there’s the value proposition for Liontown. We’re producing, we’re self funded, we’re a tier one asset, and we’ve got an embedded growth pathway. So now’s the time to invest,” he concluded.
The source: Macquarie Australia Conference
