PLS Group approves $1.3 billion expansion to boost Pilgangoora lithium output

Australia's PLS Group has given the green light to a final investment decision for its A$1.9 billion ($1.31 billion) project at its hard rock lithium mine Pilgangoora operation, betting on long-term growth in demand for the key battery-making ingredient.

The country's largest independent lithium producer said the P2000 project will lift spodumene concentrate production at its flagship project in Western Australia to nearly 2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) from 2029, through the construction of a new Jimmagunya processing plant.

PLS, formerly known as Pilbara, said the project was made possible by advances in processing technology that allowed around 67 million tonnes of material previously classified as waste to be brought into the mine plan, helping increase Pilgangoora's ore reserve by 23% and contained lithium by 31%.

The project, it said, would raise average annual production to about 1.97 million tonnes of spodumene concentrate over the first 10 years of steady-state operations, while lowering average unit operating costs to around A$620 per tonne.

It said the P2000 expansion would also produce tantalum, a critical mineral used in electronics and defence, as a by-product.