 has commenced underground production stoping at Kathleen Valley lithium operation’s Mt Mann orebody, with the first blast fired on schedule.){kind=link}
Australia’s first underground lithium mine
Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR) has commenced underground production stoping at Kathleen Valley lithium operation’s Mt Mann orebody, with the first blast fired on schedule.
This marks a key milestone in the transition from open pit to underground operations over FY26.
As Australia’s first underground lithium mine, it is expected to offer distinct advantages over traditional open-pit operations, through cleaner ore extraction by reducing ore dilution from waste contamination, supporting higher lithia recoveries and improved ore fragmentation for optimised throughput.
Liontown managing director and chief executive Tony Ottaviano says this is a proud milestone for Liontown.
“This achievement was made possible by advanced planning, the dedication of our team and the support from our mining partner, Byrnecut, ensuring the first stope blast at Mt Mann proceeded as planned,” he said.
“As part of normal preparations and planning, we undertook underground ore trials in the March quarter, in advance of first stoping, to understand the optimal plant performance settings.
“The trials delivered results in line with our study work, which reinforces our confidence in transitioning to full underground operations.
“This milestone further strengthens our foundations for long-term value creation and future shareholder returns.”
During March, trials confirmed the processability of the underground ore (utilising previously extracted development ore), with a head grade of about 1.5% lithium oxide and recoveries exceeding 70%, with further optimisation through recovery improvement projects still to come.
Liontown says the focus remains firmly on continuing the mine development to advance the decline, opening additional working areas and ramping up the underground operations progressively.
The key objective of the underground operations, in the short to medium term, is to safely target high-margin ore and maximise value with the mill expected to be supplied solely by underground volumes (and stockpiles) by Q4 FY26.