Australian lithium miner Liontown Resources produced 87,172t of spodumene concentrate over July-September, up on the year from approximately 28,000t.
The company has kept its spodumene production guidance for the 2025-26 financial year ending 30 June unchanged at 365,000-450,000t, with a targeted grade of 5.2pc, the firm said in a quarterly report on 28 October.
Liontown sold 77,474t of spodumene concentrate with an average lithium oxide grade of 5pc over the quarter. It sold 10,831t of 5.3pc graded spodumene over the same period in 2024, after opening its flagship 500,000 t/yr Kathleen Valley mine on 30 September 2024.
The company is currently producing spodumene using lower-grade feedstock as it is fully converting Kathleen Valley from an open-pit to underground operation.
Liontown launched underground mining operations in early April. It mined 225,000t of higher-grade underground ore in July-September, accounting for 44pc of total mined ore. The company will increase its processing of underground ore over 2025-26, ending its use of open-cut ore by the end of July-September 2026.
Liontown's average realised lithium price stood at $700/t, on a 6pc cif basis, in July-September. It did not disclose the realised price of its inaugural shipment over the same period in 2024.
Argus' lithium concentrate (spodumene) 6pc Li2O cif China price has been quite volatile over the last year. It fell from $760/t on 29 October to a low of $607.5/t on 24 June 2025, before recovering to $855/t on 21 October, when it was last assessed.
Liontown will be able to sell spodumene on spot markets in the 2027 calendar year. The company scaled back an offtake deal with US automaker Ford in early October, shipments from 2027 to after 2028, at the earliest.
The amendment gives Liontown strategic flexibility to sell greater volumes of concentrate via spot sales or to new customers, the company's managing director Tony Ottaviano said on 9 October.
| Liontown Resources Quarterly | t | ||
| Jul-Sep '25 | Jul-Sep '24 | y-o-y Change (%) | |
| Spodumene production | 87,172 | 28,000 | 211 |
| Spodumene shipments | 77,474 | 10,831 | 615 |
| Spodumene grade (%) | 5.0 | 5.3 | -5.7 |
| Liontown Resources | |||
