SUSTAINED HIGHER RECOVERIES, STRONGER PRODUCTION AND SALES DURING SEPTEMBER
2020 QUARTER SEES UNIT COSTS CONTINUE TO TREND DOWN
Australian spodumene and tantalum concentrate producer, Pilbara Minerals Limited (ASX:
PLS) (Pilbara Minerals or the Company), is pleased to provide the following operational
update for the September 2020 Quarter for its Pilgangoora Lithium-Tantalum Project
(Pilgangoora Project).
While the Company continued campaign mining and processing during the September
quarter in line with its moderated production strategy, several improvements were
recorded across the operation, notably:
• an increase in plant run-time and utilisation, which represented approximately
70-75% utilisation across the quarter (compared with 40% in the June quarter);
• higher plant utilisation and continued high product recovery contributed to a
lower average unit cash operating cost1 of US$355/dmt (CIF China) for the
September quarter;
• increased production, with a total of 62,404 dry metric tonnes (dmt) of
spodumene concentrate produced for the quarter (compared with 34,484 dmt
for the June quarter); and
• an increase in sales, with spodumene concentrate shipments totalling 43,630
dmt for the quarter, in line with guidance provided in the June Quarterly Report
(compared with 29,312 dmt for the June quarter).
These trends reinforce the strong progress that is being made across all key operational
performance criteria at Pilgangoora, which positions Pilbara Minerals well to take
advantage of a turnaround in the lithium market, when that occurs.
Despite the improvement in sales volumes seen during the September Quarter,
spodumene concentrate pricing remains weak, which reflects the sustained lower pricing
and demand being experienced across the entire lithium raw materials and chemicals
supply chain.
Production levels in the September quarter exceeded quarterly sales in preparation for
delivering into contracted customer sales from early October 2020. Pilbara Minerals will
provide further details on its operational performance for the September quarter and
sales guidance for the December quarter in its September Quarterly Report, which is due
for release in late October. etc etc
Expand
(20min delay)