Pilgangoora a project for the times

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Pilgangoora a project for the times

PILBARA Minerals boss Ken Brinsden says the company is on the cusp of pushing the button on Pilgangoora, less than five years after its discovery.

• Kristie Batten
• 01 Jun 2017
• 7:15

Pilbara has taken Pilgangoora from discovery to the world’s largest undeveloped lithium resource and through the feasibility stage to the current financing phase.

Brinsden has spent the past few weeks traveling around the world to finalise the final part of the funding for the A$234 million project.

“I would expect [the financing] is not too far away now,” Brinsden told the Resources Rising Stars conference on the Gold Coast yesterday.

With China’s lithium consumption growing by 29% since 2015, Brinsden said there was a “severe squeeze” on the raw material supply base.

“We’re absolutely in the sweet spot,” he said.

“Pilgangoora is a project that is so fit for the times.

“It’s one of the most important projects globally and therefore justifies its development and its ability to attract capital.”

Brinsden said the company was in execution mode, but was keen to dispel some myths about the project.

“For the conspiracy theorists out there – and if you’re not here, you’re on Hot Copper – who say we don’t have enough water…there’s bucketloads of water at Pilgangoora,” he said.

Pilbara has done pilot-scale testwork since its September 2016 DFS, which Brinsden said shouldn’t be read as a sign the work was required.

“All of that work has been for the purpose of optimising, learning – it lowers the risk,” he said.

“It’s also proven the quality of the Pilgangoora resource.”

Brinsden was also keen to point out that Pilgangoora would produce a 6% concentrate, superior to many of its peers.

“Not 5%, not 5.5% – 6%,” he said.

“The reason that can happen is it’s high-quality spodumene.”

Brinsden has no doubt that Pilgangoora will get bigger over time.

“It’s absolutely phenomenal what’s in the ground at Pilgangoora,” he said.

“If we chose to keep drilling I am certain that resource would continue to grow.”

Production growth is also already planned, with the doubling of capacity to 4 million tonnes per annum envisaged.

A prefeasibility study returned capital costs of $128 million for the expansion.

“There’s every chance we’ll lower that cost from here as we apply the smarts that we’ve learned in the stage one project,” Brinsden said.

Pilgangoora is set to start production and shipments in the first quarter of next year.

Shares in Pilbara closed at 40.5c yesterday.