The company is aiming to complete the DFS in the fourth quarter of 2021, following a highly encouraging pre-feasibility study last October which supported a 2 million tonne per annum operation with a 40-year mine life.

A subsequent scoping study also discovered further potential to complete downstream processing of spodumene concentrate on-site, allowing Liontown to produce lithium hydroxide or lithium sulphate.

During the pre-feasibility study, Liontown unearthed intersections including 9.9 metres at 1.9 per cent lithium oxide from 125.9 metres at the KVGT0013 target, 9.2 metres at 1.6 per cent lithium oxide from 189.2 metres at the KVDD0076 zone and 14 metres at 1.8 per cent lithium oxide from 186 metres at KVDD0077.

Geotechnical data from KVDD0076 and KVDD0077 was particularly promising, intersecting significant widths of high-grade mineralisation, confirming continuity of the system.

Liontown used this data to prepare a mineral resource estimate of 156 million tonnes at 1.4 per cent lithium oxide, making Kathleen Valley one of the world’s largest spodumene-related hard rock lithium resources.

The company has also undertaken water exploration drilling to identify follow-up targets for full bore development and testing, namely 10 reverse circulation holes totalling 1018 metres.

These holes target structures defined by the aeromagnetic and ground electromagnetic data.

Liontown has appointed highly rated consulting groups Lycopodium Minerals, Snowden Mining Industry Consultants, Knight Piésold, MBS Environmental and ALS Metallurgy to assist with the DFS.

The company will continue to update the market as it progresses the DFS over the course of 2021.

Kathleen Valley is 100 per cent owned by Liontown and has already been identified as a tier-1 battery metals asset, due to its excellent grade and scale.

With three resource upgrades, Liontown has positioned itself at the forefront of the next generation of lithium developers.