Liontown has announced the completion of open-pit mining at its Kathleen Valley lithium operation in Western Australia, marking a pivotal transition to a 100 per cent underground mining model.
The final truckload of ore departed the Kathleen’s Corner pit on schedule in December, concluding three successful years of open-pit activity.
“The plan was set five years ago as part of our DFS [definitive feasibility study], and delivering to that plan is a testament to the strength, skill and determination of our team and contractor Iron Mine Contracting,” Liontown managing director Tony Ottaviano said.
“The open pit exceeded recovery targets in its final six months of operation and built substantial strategic stockpiles, providing feed security as underground operations ramp-up. Our underground mine is progressing to plan, with the flexibility to prioritise high-margin ore and scale efficiently in response to market demand.”
The open-pit phase was fundamental in establishing the mine’s infrastructure. Waste rock generated during this period was utilised to construct the tailings storage facility and the run-of-mine (ROM) pad.
As the site shifts focus, underground operations are progressing as planned. The underground mine is delivering consistent, clean ore, with development schedules prioritised to target high-margin material.
This transition is bolstered by strategic stockpiles of clean ore and ore sorting potential (OSP) material accumulated during the final months of open-pit production.
These stockpiles provide significant operational flexibility and feed security to the early part of the 2026–27 financial year (FY27), ensuring a steady mill feed as the underground operation ramps up to its full capacity of 2.8 million tonnes per annum.
With the launch of this next phase, Liontown said Kathleen Valley is now positioned as Australia’s first large-scale underground lithium mine, ready to scale production to meet global market demand.
