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- Pilbara Minerals (PLS) has revised the December quarter and FY22 annual concentrate production and shipping guidance for the Pilgangoora Project in WA
- December’s production revised down to up to 95,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate, while FY22 annual concentrate production revised down to up to 450,000 tonnes
- The delays are being blamed on staff shortages, commissioning delays and ramp-up initiatives, with the staged re-start of production from the Ngungaju Plant ongoing
- Ramp-up activities are also continuing at the Pilgan Plant, with PLS aiming to increase spodumene production capacity at both sites by mid 2022
- Shares in Pilbara Minerals are down 9.06 per cent at $2.52 each
Pilbara Minerals (PLS) has revised the December quarter and FY22 annual concentrate production and shipping guidance for its Pilgangoora Project
The ASX-lister has released an update on the ongoing work programs to increase spodumene production at the facility in Western Australia as well as associated delays and revisions.
The December quarter production from Pilgangoora has been revised to 85,000 to 95,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate, down from 90,000 to 115,000 tonnes.
The project’s FY22 annual concentrate production will now total between 400,000 to 450,000 tonnes, down from previous forecast highs of up to 510,000 tonnes.
PLS has blamed commissioning delays, ramp-up initiatives, extended plant shutdowns at both processing plants and industry-wide staff shortages for the revised production totals.
Pilbara Minerals’ Managing Director Ken Brinsden said despite the revisions, the company expected its average sale price to be at the top-end of its previous guidance.
“As a result of these impacts, which have delayed elements of our commissioning and ramp-up plans, we have updated production guidance for the December Quarter as well as for FY22,” Mr Brinsden said.
“Notwithstanding this, Pilbara Minerals remains incredibly well-placed to make a significant contribution towards satisfying the world’s burgeoning appetite for lithium raw materials.
“Recent price developments are underlining the emergence of significant raw material supply shortages and Pilbara Minerals is doing everything in its power to respond quickly to customer demand with additional production capacity, both in the short and medium term.”
The company is progressing its staged re-start of production from the Ngungaju Plant, with total annualised spodumene production capacity expected to hit 180,000 to 200,000 dry metric tonnes (dmt) from July 2022.
Ramp-up activities are also continuing at the Pilgan Plant within the project, with PLS aiming to increase spodumene production capacity to 360,000 to 380,000 dmt from March.
Shares in Pilbara Minerals are down 9.06 per cent at $2.52 each at 12:00 pm AEDT.
