The Chinese translation is being made; the original is shown for now.
PLS has reported a substantial increase in the ore reserve at its 100 per cent-owned Pilgangoora operations in Western Australia, with contained lithium increasing 31 per cent following the completion of the P200 expansion project feasibility study, final investment decision and underground pre-feasibility study.
The updated ore reserve stands at 249.2 million tonnes at 1.24 per cent lithium oxide, representing a 23 per cent increase in tonnes and approximately 3.1 million tonnes of contained lithium.
The company said the increase reflects improved metallurgical understanding and processing capability, including the new Jimmagunya plant, which enables a greater proportion of mineralised material to be economically recovered.
A key addition is a maiden underground ore reserve of 46.5 million tonnes at 1.50 per cent lithium oxide, establishing a higher-grade inventory beneath the existing open pits.
The expanded ore reserve supports an estimated 20-year operating horizon on an open-pit basis, based on the P2000 processing schedule, and more than 25 years when open-pit and underground resources are included.
PLS also reported an updated mineral resource of 403 million tonnes at 1.33 per cent lithium oxide.
While this represents an 8 per cent reduction in tonnes compared with the 2025-26 (FY26) annual report, the average grade is higher, with no change to the underlying geological model or estimation following the revised assessment of reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction.
For the first time, the mineral resource has been reported as separate open-pit, stockpile and underground components, comprising 211 million tonnes open-pit, 10 million tonnes stockpile and 182 million tonnes underground.
“The substantial increase in Pilgangoora’s ore reserve reinforces the scale and quality of this world-class orebody and provides a strong foundation for the P2000 expansion,” PLS managing director Dale Henderson said.
“As our understanding of Pilgangoora has deepened, we have continued to identify opportunities to economically recover more of the orebody. The updated ore reserve supports substantially higher production under P2000 while maintaining a long mine life.”
Subscribe to Australian Mining and receive the latest news on product announcements, industry developments, commodities and more.