Liontown flags first production for Kathleen Valley in mid-2024
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The news: Liontown Resources said its flagship Kathleen Valley lithium project is more than 85% complete, and is on schedule to begin first production in mid-2024.
The numbers: In a quarterly activities update, the Western Australian critical minerals play said that Kathleen Valley was more than 85% complete on an earned value basis by the end of March. The project's process plant was around 90% complete, while commissioning commenced at the dry plant.
Liontown noted that the facility agreement for a $550 million debt package struck last month, is expected to provide financial certainty and allow sufficient time to complete the previously announced review of Kathleen Valley's 4 million tonnes per year expansion. The company said it will provide a market update on the review in the second quarter of the 2024 calendar year.
Liontown's cash balance was $358.1 million as at 31 March 2024.
The company's shares last closed at $1.12 and over the last 12 months has fallen 58.67%.
The context: Last month, Liontown widened its net loss for the first half of the financial year, with costs of the Kathleen Valley project — as well as falling lithium prices and its failed takeover by Albemarle — weighing on earnings. In February, significant reductions in short and medium term lithium prices led Liontown to commence a review of the planned expansion and ramp up of the Kathleen Valley project to preserve capital and reduce the near term funding requirements.
What they said: Liontown's managing director Tony Ottaviano said: "The March quarter saw tremendous progress across all major work fronts at Kathleen Valley, with construction of the process plant, the critical path to first production, being 90% complete on an earned value basis."
"We remain confident in our ability to deliver our tier-1 lithium project on budget and schedule to first production by mid-2024," he said.
The source: ASX announcement
