Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) has delivered a mineral resource and ore reserves estimate for the Kathleen Valley Lithium Project in Western Australia, which the group says demonstrates “high-quality” and geological consistency.
The project’s resource contains 150 million tonnes @ 1.33% lithium oxide, compared to the June 2024 resource of 155 million tonnes @ 1.34% lithium oxide.
Meanwhile, the ore reserve contains 71.7 million tonnes @ 1.32% lithium oxide, compared to the June 2025 reserve of 69.2 million tonnes @ 1.34% lithium oxide.
Kathleen Valley’s updated resource estimate reflects additional grade control drilling, improved understanding of the geology of the mineralised pegmatites and updates to the geological model.
The ore reserve reflects changes to the mine design, mining depletion, changes to the mine modifying factors, operating strategies and updated costs and assumptions informed by a year of operational and processing experience.
Liontown, which has a market capitalisation of $2.61 billion, notes that open pit operations remain on track for completion in December 2025, coinciding with the ongoing ramp-up of underground production.
CEO Tony Ottaviano says despite depletion from mining and the application of updated cost and price assumptions, the ore reserve has slightly increased.
“This outcome reflects the robustness of the original Definitive Feasibility Study work and the subsequent grade control drilling reinforcing the quality of the deposit under real operation conditions,” Ottaviano says.
“Importantly, the ore reserve has been maintained without additional exploration drilling, highlighting the confidence we can place in the ore body as we transition from open pit to underground mining.”
The Kathleen Valley Project is located on the western edge of the Norseman-Wiluna Greenstone Belt within the Archaean Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia.
Liontown Resources is a battery minerals provider focused on powering a sustainable future by ensuring a reliable supply of essential minerals.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Liontown Resources
