Lithium battery participant Altura announces commercial production of lithium concentrates with an annual production capacity of 220,000 tons
Altura is a major player in the global lithium battery market and is taking advantage of the growing demand for raw materials to manufacture lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and electrostatic storage. On March 13, Alturamining issued a report announcing that its 100% owned Altura Lithium Mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia officially announced commercial production, completed the commissioning of the first phase of the Altura lithium mine, and will further plan to improve the processing plant , Aiming to increase production. In recent weeks, the operations team has achieved significant and measurable increases in the production of lithium concentrates and overall lithium metal recovery from coarse (heavy media separation) and fine particle (flotation) plants. The first stage SC6.0 spodumene concentrate production capacity is 220,000 tons per year, which is equivalent to 645 tons per day (tons per day) (including planned maintenance shutdowns), and the total lithium metal recovery rate is 80%. The output in recent weeks averaged 541 tons/day, accounting for 84% of the nameplate. So far, the average output in March is 612 tons per day, accounting for 95% of the nameplate, and it can produce up to 705 tons in 24 hours. After consulting with Altura’s board of directors, the company compares commercial production targets with previous benchmarks and combines accounting and commercial standards to determine that sufficient output, recycling, and production consistency have been achieved so that commercial production can be confirmed. Mr. James Brown, Managing Director of Altura, said: 'This is one of the most important milestones in the company's history. In less than two years, we moved this project from the first to full production, which is a huge achievement. It also proves the hard work and hard work of the entire Altura team.” He believes that the company’s current focus is to ensure that mining, processing plants and logistics chains operate as efficiently as possible so that customers can obtain the highest quality products they can produce. Altura is a major player in the global lithium battery market and is taking advantage of the growing demand for raw materials to manufacture lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and electrostatic storage. Altura owns and operates a world-class Altura lithium project in Pilgangoora, Pilbara, Western Australia, with a production capacity of 220,000 tons of high-quality spodumene concentrate. The company has completed the final feasibility study for the potential second-stage expansion and made the final investment decision after reviewing the first-stage operation and increasing the production of nameplates. SMM believes that AlturaMining's capacity ramp rate has increased rapidly this time, and the recovery rate has been optimized and improved well. Previously disclosed through its financial report, a comprehensive comparison found that the cash cost of AlturaMining is higher in Australian mines and is at a disadvantage. However, it can also be seen from this announcement that AlturaMining's improvement and progress have been breaking through, which can be described as catching up. In this regard, we will continue to pay attention to the mining and operation of AlturaMining.