One of the best performers on the market on Tuesday morning has been the Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price.
At the time of writing the lithium miner's shares are up 10% to 87.5 cents.
What happened?
This morning Pilbara announced the completion of its pre-feasibility study assessing an expansion to achieve 5Mt per annum run-of-mine ore production and processing capacity at its flagship 100%-owned Pilgangoora Lithium-Tantalum Project.
According to the release, the study outlines a compelling business case for commencing the expansion of the project to 5Mtpa of production and processing capacity.
Based on the proposed 5Mtpa stand-alone mining and processing operation, the study indicates that the project will be a robust, high margin project with current forecast life-of-mine revenue of $11.5 billion and life of mine Project EBITDA of $6.5 billion over an estimated 17-year mine life.
As a result of the strong financial and technical merits of the expansion project, management has pushed ahead with a definitive assessment which is targeting completion mid-2018.
Pilbara Minerals'' Managing Director and CEO, Ken Brinsden, believes that the results of the study will "cement its position as a globally significant, low-cost supplier of lithium raw materials for decades to come."
Judging by the market's reaction today, investors appear to agree with Mr Brinsden.
Should you invest?
I can't say I'm surprised by Pilbara Minerals' strong gain today. The Pilgangoora Lithium-Tantalum Project certainly has the potential to be one of the more lucrative operations in the industry.
However, my preference in the industry continues to be Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX: GXY), closely followed by Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE).
Though it is worth remembering that they are amongst the more volatile and high risk shares on the local share market. I think that this would make these lithium miners suitable only to investors with a high tolerance for risk.
