Aspiring lithium miner Altura plans Pilbara expansion
Altura Mining is preparing to raise production of spodumene concentrate from 220,000 tonnes a year to 440,000 tonnes at its $170m Pilgangoora lithium project in Western Australia's Pilbara. Commissioning is scheduled for the Q2, 2018, with first lithium concentrate sales in the Q2. J&R Optimum, the major shareholder in Altura, and Lionergy each have binding offtake agreements for a minimum of 100,000 tonnes a year of spodumene concentrate for an initial five-year period. Two significant players in the Chinese lithium battery market had encouraged Altura to pursue the production expansion to 440,000 tonnes.
J & R Optimum, the major shareholder in Altura, and Lionergy each have binding offtake agreements for a minimum of 100,000 tonnes a year of spodumene concentrate for an initial five-year period.

Mr Brown said the two significant players in Chinese lithium battery market had encouraged Altura to pursue the production expansion to 440,000 tonnes. Despite their interest Altura was keeping its funding options open.

The positive in-house scoping study was based on the recently-revised Mineral Resource estimate of 44 million tonnes at 1.00 per cent lithium oxide and the revised ore reserve estimate of 34.2 million tonnes at 1.04 per cent.

The study canvassed introducing 24-hour-a-day operations to boost production with mine life remaining at greater than 10 years and further mine resource extension drilling planned for 2018.

The Altura share price has more than doubled since early last month when it completed a $26 million institutional placement a 19¢ a share to help pay for the expansion study. Just under half the placement was taken by US asset manger BlackRock, which has also built a position in Pilbara Minerals.

The placement came soon after Altura locked away a $US110 million debt facility that was the final piece of funding for the first stage of the Pilgangoora project.

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Lionergy is building a lithium carbonate/lithium hydroxide plant in China for a consortium which includes J & R with completion expected to coincide with first production for Altura.

Altura has an option to take equity in the plant and Mr Brown confirmed it would consider that option after achieving initial production targets.

Altura executives will travel to Inner Mongolia in the next few weeks to inspect progress on the plant, which has the capacity to absorb all the production from Stage 1 of Altura's Pilgangoora mine.

Mr Brown said the size of the spodumene resources around Pilgangoora meant Altura along with others coming into production in Pilbara Minerals and Mineral Resources could consider localised lithium processing consortium in the future.

"The downstream opportunities are very much in their infancy and at the moment I think we are all focused on production first," he said.

Altura and Pilbara Minerals have a formal co-operation agreement, which sees them share some costs, including an access road to the adjoining mines about 120 kilometres from Port Hedland.

The reporter was a guest of Altura Mining Limited.