The enlargement would require Pilbara Minerals to construct a brand new flotation plant for extracting lithium from the spodumene that may be adjoining to an present flotation plant to constrain prices. The plan is being laid out as Pilbara retains its choices open for future manufacturing amid low costs for the battery materials.
“We anticipate the complete suite of funding choices to be out there for us, which may embrace money circulation from our operations, and authorities help. We may take a look at offtake and finance in addition to debt and fairness,” CEO Dale Henderson advised Reuters.
Pilbara had A$1.8 billion in money on its books as of March 31, 2024.
The output plan is separate to Pilbara’s examine to course of its spodumene right into a extra lithium-rich product that could possibly be offered at greater margins, for which it’s constructing an indication plant with Calix Ltd, he stated.
The demonstration plant will trial electrical calciner know-how to make a lithium phosphate product containing 18% lithium, up from 5% to six% contained lithium in spodumene.
The trial could yield learnings that would apply to different tasks around the globe, and provide Pilbara one other income stream by means of licensing, Henderson stated.
Pilbara earlier this yr agreed to a examine with China’s Ganfeng Lithium on choices to construct a 32,000 metric-ton-per-year lithium conversion facility.
The location for the plant has not been determined however a lot of international locations are being thought of, together with Australia.
Pilbara’s shares fell 3.8% to A$3.08, amid weak spot in lithium miners, whereas the broader mining sub-index dropped 0.3%.
($1 = 1.5015 Australian {dollars})
(By Sherin Sunny; Enhancing by Subhranshu Sahu, Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Christian Schmollinger)