As part of our overall strategy to create value for shareholders, we are actively investigating the potential for an integrated refinery to upgrade our spodumene from the Kathleen Valley mine to higher value lithium products that will meet the needs of our customers.
Growth Opportunity
Refining spodumene into lithium products presents an attractive growth opportunity for us to increase value to our shareholders. Kathleen Valley’s large, high-quality resource would underwrite up to approximately 86ktpa of battery grade lithium hydroxide production, providing a platform for Liontown to become a fully integrated lithium chemicals producer.
We are exploring a refinery to take our spodumene to lithium intermediates, such as lithium sulphate (which would then be further refined to lithium hydroxide in a finishing plant closer to customers), as well as through to final battery-grade lithium hydroxide. Such is the size of our Kathleen Valley resource, Liontown will need multiple trains which can be brought on in a phased manner and could support multiple refinery locations, including Australia or countries closer to our customers and end-markets.
By staging the development of refining capacity, we will have flexibility on product, final sizing and specific timing of development while also reducing implementation risk.
Partnerships
Liontown and LG Energy Solution entered into a downstream collaboration agreement to investigate the establishment of an IRA-compliant lithium refinery to process Kathleen Valley spodumene into battery-grade lithium chemicals.
Alongside this, we are working with Sumitomo Corporation to explore the feasibility of using Liontown’s spodumene, or a future lithium sulphate produced in a Western Australia-based plant, to produce lithium hydroxide in Japan.
The long life and quality of Kathleen Valley provides Liontown with an opportunity to unlock further value through becoming an integrated producer and refiner of lithium products that support the world’s transition to a low-carbon future.
