Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) announced that it is on track to make the first shipment of spodumene concentrate from its Pilgangoora lithium-tantalum project this month.

As quoted in the press release:

The Company is on track to deliver a minimum of 5,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate ready for ship-loading in Port Hedland from approximately 20 September, with the focus now on growing production and stockpiling concentrate (both on site and in Port Hedland) for subsequent shipments to Pilbara Minerals’ premier customer group.

As part of ongoing product testing with one of its key off-take partners, General Lithium, Pilbara Mineral’s spodumene concentrate has been tested at their research laboratory in China (aligned to their conversion process) and readily produced Battery Grade lithium carbonate. The final product in the test (which is representative of the proportion of both coarse and fines spodumene production at the Pilgangoora project) has been qualified and passed the relevant industry standard.

Ken Brinsden, managing director of Pilbara, commented:

We have some fantastic talent at Pilbara Minerals and with the production results and product quality we are achieving, it is clearly on display. From the significant orebody knowledge underwriting the Ore Reserve in the ground, to mining, blending and now plant performance we have always been focused on quality outcomes.

The strong results now being achieved also reflect the significant investments we made, including our decision to invest upfront in both a coarse and fines processing circuit, as well as in high-quality equipment selection. Together this will help ensure that the Pilgangoora Project becomes one of the lowest cost producers globally in the long term.

Click here to read the full Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) press release.