We’re pleased to announce that open pit mining has been successfully completed on schedule, transitioning Kathleen Valley to a 100% underground mining operation.

The final truckload of ore has departed the Kathleen’s Corner pit, concluding three years of open pit mining. The open pit played a critical role in establishing the foundations of the operation. Waste rock was used to construct key infrastructure, including the Run-Of-Mine (ROM) pad and tailings storage facility (TSF). Ore from the open pit enabled early commissioning and ramp up, while accelerating validation of the processing plant flowsheet and operating envelope.

Open pit mining was conducted within a small footprint and in close collaboration with the Tjiwarl, acknowledging and protecting culturally significant areas.

Earlier this month, the last open pit blast was fired, another significant moment in the final stretch of the open pit operation.

Thank you to our mining services contractor, Iron Mine Contracting, for their strong, consistent delivery throughout the open pit operation.

Underground operations are scaling as planned, with development and production progressing to schedule and infrastructure systems performing reliably. Underground operations are delivering consistent, clean ore to the mill, with flexibility to efficiently scale production in line with market demand.

Kathleen Valley is well-positioned for its next phase of growth as Australia’s first large-scale underground lithium mine.