ASX/Media Announcement 14 October 2016
PILBARA PLACES ORDER FOR FIRST LONG-LEAD CAPITAL ITEM FOR PILGANGOORA LITHIUM-TANTALUM PROJECT, WA
Board approval also received to place orders for a further two key long-lead items
Australian lithium developer Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS – “Pilbara” or “the Company”) is pleased to advise that it has secured a number of key long-lead items required for its 100%-owned Pilgangoora Lithium-Tantalum Project, located near Port Hedland in WA.
To support its fast-track development strategy, the Pilbara development team has been working on a number of fronts to ensure that appropriate infrastructure, access and logistics support are in place at Pilgangoora to allow the major construction works to commence as soon as project finance has been secured.
As part of this process, the Company has placed an order for a High Pressure Grinding Rolls (HPGR) crusher, which represents a key component of the proposed processing flowsheet for the Pilgangoora treatment facility as outlined in the recently completed Pilgangoora Definitive Feasibility Study (see ASX Announcement – 20 September 2016).
Pilbara Minerals’ Board has also approved the order of two additional long-lead items required for the Pilgangoora Processing Plant including – a Ball Mill and Spodumene Concentrate Filter. It is expected that orders for these items will be placed in the coming weeks.
The order of these long-lead items will put the Company on track to achieve its targeted schedule of commencing commissioning from late 2017.
The tender process for the long-lead items is being managed by Engenium as the Company’s Project Management Consultant (PMC). Base bid prices are consistent with the recent DFS capital estimates and have been adopted with allowances including foreign exchange rate risk, freight, import duty and spare parts.
Pilbara’s Managing Director, Mr Ken Brinsden, said the identification of key long-lead items was a key element of the Company’s focused and team-based approach to delivering the Pilgangoora Project.
“We have an aggressive development timetable to ensure that construction at Pilgangoora can commence as soon as the Company secures an appropriate funding package and the Board makes a Final Investment Decision,” Mr Brinsden. “Having certainty around the timing of delivery of key capital items such as the HPGR crusher, ball mill and concentrate filter is an important part of our coordinated development strategy, and will help to de-risk our project implementation timeline.”
“This is another very positive milestone for the Pilgangoora Project which shows that we are putting all of the required elements in place to meet our construction and development timetable. This is an exciting time for Pilbara as we gear up to commence development of one of the more significant new resource projects in the State.”
More Information:
ABOUT PILBARA MINERALS
Pilbara Minerals (“Pilbara” – ASX: PLS) is a mining and exploration company listed on the ASX, specialising in the exploration and development of the specialty metals Lithium and Tantalum. Pilbara owns 100% of the world class Pilgangoora Lithium-Tantalum project which is the second
Pilbara Minerals Limited
130 Stirling Highway, Phone: +61 8 9336 6267 Web:
www.pilbaraminerals.com.au ASX Code: PLS
North Fremantle, Western Australia 6159 Fax: +61 8 9433 5121 ACN 112 425 788 Shares on Issue: 1.15B
largest Spodumene (Lithium Aluminium Silicate) project in the world. Pilgangoora is also one of the largest pegmatite hosted Tantalite resources in the world and Pilbara proposes to produce Tantalite as a by-product of its Spodumene production.
ABOUT LITHIUM
Lithium is a soft silvery white metal which is highly reactive and does not occur in nature in its elemental form. It has the highest electrochemical potential of all metals, a key property in its role in Lithium-ion batteries. In nature it occurs as compounds within hard rock deposits and salt brines. Lithium and its chemical compounds have a wide range of industrial applications resulting in numerous chemical and technical uses. A key growth area is its use in lithium batteries as a power source for a wide range of applications including consumer electronics, power station-domestic-industrial storage, electric vehicles, power tools and almost every application where electricity is currently supplied by fossil fuels.
ABOUT TANTALUM
The Tantalum market is boutique in size with around 1,300 tonnes required each year. Its primary use is in capacitors for consumer electronics, particularly where long battery life and high performance is required such as smart phones, tablets and laptops.
Contacts:
Investors / Shareholders
Ken Brinsden
Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director Ph. +61 (0)8 9336 6267
Media
Nicholas Read
Read Corporate
Ph. +61 (0)8 9388 1474
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS AND IMPORTANT NOTICE
This announcement may contain some references to forecasts, estimates, assumptions and other forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that its expectations, estimates and forecast outcomes are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that they will be achieved. They may be affected by a variety of variables and changes in underlying assumptions that are subject to risk factors associated with the nature of the business, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed herein. All references to dollars ($) and cents in this announcement are to Australian currency, unless otherwise stated.
Investors should make and rely upon their own enquiries before deciding to acquire or deal in the Company's securities.
This release has been prepared for publication in Australia and may not be released in the United States. This release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction. Any securities described in this release have not been, and will not be, registered under the US Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States except in transactions exempt from, or not subject to, registration under the US Securities Act and applicable US state securities laws.
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