Pilgangoora Produces First Concentrate

Marking a milestone for its Pilgangoora project, Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) has produced its first concentrate from the lithium-tantalum site in Western Australia.

The concentrate, which was tantalum and spodumene, has not yet been tested for quality or specifications, but according to the company, early signs show the process plant and equipment are performing up to expectation.

“This is a great result, which marks the culmination of the incredible hard work our entire team has put in to transform the amazing resource at Pilgangoora into a globally significant lithium raw materials production base – with Stage 1 of the project having been delivered in less than four years since the first drill hole,” Pilbara Minerals managing director and CEO Ken Brinsden said in a statement.

While the commissioning process just started at Pilgangoora’s concentrator a week ago, the company expects all remaining construction activity to be completed in the coming weeks. After the flotation and dense media separation circuits are commissioned, which is set to take place over the next six weeks, Pilbara will shift its focus to ramping up the plant’s overall production capacity.

Pilbara will deliver its first shipment of spodumene concentrate in August, as the company is finalizing the last details of offtake agreements made with Ganfeng (SHE:002460) and General Lithium. Meanwhile, the company shipped its first batch of direct shipping ore (DSO) to China just less than a week ago.

Pilgangoora is Pilbara’s primary project, though the company also has a 51-percent interest in Mt Francisco, a lithium-tantalite exploration project in Western Australia. The company can earn up to an 80-percent interest in the project by funding $1 million worth of exploration and completing a definitive feasibility study. Pilbara shares the joint-venture with Atlas Iron (ASX:AGO).

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Securities Disclosure: I, Olivia Da Silva, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.