Liontown begins underground production at Kathleen Valley

The news: Lithium miner Liontown Resources has announced the start of underground production stoping at its flagship Kathleen Valley operation, marking a key milestone in its transition from open pit to underground operations from next financial year.

The context: Liontown said Australia's first underground lithium mine offers "distinct advantages" over traditional open-pit operations, through cleaner ore extraction, higher lithia recoveries and optimised throughput.

The miner noted that the key objective of its underground operations over the short to medium term is to target high-margin ore and maximise value, with the mill expected to be supplied solely by underground volumes and stockpiles by the final quarter of fiscal 2026.