The first direct shipment of lithium ore has been exported to China from Pilbara Minerals' Pilgangoora project in Western Australia.
Atlas Iron has shipped 85,000t to Sinosteel in China from Port Hedland as part of a direct shipping ore (DSO) agreement between Atlas and Pilbara. The agreement will deliver between 1mn t and 1.5mn t of crushed but unprocessed lithium ore to China over the next year to provide early cash flow for the Pilgangoora lithium-tantalum project.
"This represents the first product sold from our new world-class Pilgangoora mine to customers in China. The start of shipments comes just days after the start of commissioning of the concentrator at Pilgangoora to produce the first batch of spodumene concentrate by the end of June," chief executive Ken Brinsden said.
Once fully operational, the first stage of the Pilgangoora project will produce around 330,000 t/yr of lithium concentrate for offtake partners in China. Studies are underway for a second stage, which could increase output to around 800,000 t/yr for offtake partners in China and South Korea.
Atlas is using its facilities at Utah Point at Port Hedland to crush and transport lithium ore to China. It is the subject of a takeover offer from West Australian lithium miner Mineral Resources, but has attracted investment interest from iron ore producer Fortescue Metals.
