PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Earl Grey lithium project, in Western Australia, could be in production as early as the first quarter of 2019, ASX-listed Kidman Resources reported on Tuesday.
A scoping study into the project estimated that production could start as early as August next year, with construction to last between 10 and 12 months.
The scoping study estimated that at a capital cost of $111-million, the Earl Grey project could be developed into a two-million-tonne-a-year operation, delivering 288 000 t/y of lithium concentrate, over a mine life of 25 years.
Based on this production scenario, the project is expected to have a pre-tax net present value of $861-million and an internal rate of return of 57%.
Kidman pointed out on Tuesday that no consideration was given in the scoping study for a potential gold mining operation at the greater Mount Holland project, but the company could consider such a project.
The company could also participate in the development of a downstream processing facility or refinery to produce lithium hydroxide or lithium carbonate with joint venture partner Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA (SQM), with Kidman leveraging off SQM’s expertise in the production of the speciality products.