The Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) share price is lifting on Wednesday morning.
At the time of writing, the lithium miner's shares are up 4% to 95 cents.
Why is the Liontown share price lifting?
As you might have noticed above, I described Liontown as a lithium miner and not a lithium developer.
That's because the company has just announced that it has produced its first spodumene concentrate at the Kathleen Valley Lithium Project.
According to the release, first spodumene concentrate was produced at the project following the commissioning of the wet plant and end-to-end operation of the Kathleen Valley value chain.
Management highlights that this achievement continues its track record of delivering major project milestones on schedule. It also marks the start of its production ramp-up to nameplate throughput of 3Mtpa. This is currently expected to be achieved by the end of the first quarter of calendar year 2025.
Furthermore, with 216,000 tonnes of clean ore already mined to date from the Kathleen's Corner and Mt Mann open pits, and the primary ore zone in Kathleen's Corner scheduled to be mined starting in late August, Liontown's stockpile of clean ore for processing is well-positioned.
The company advised that it will now focus on completing the remaining commissioning activities in the non-critical path areas of the plant, concluding construction of critical underground infrastructure. This includes the Paste Fill plant and ramping up the process plant to 3Mtpa throughput.
'A monumental moment'
Liontown's managing director and CEO, Tony Ottaviano, appeared to be delighted with the news. He commented:
Two and a half years ago, we set ourselves the ambitious goal of achieving first production by mid-2024. Today, we have achieved it. This is a monumental moment for Liontown and marks our transition from a construction project to a producer of high-quality lithium concentrate.
To have successfully constructed and commissioned a world-class lithium operation in two and a half years is a testament to the resilience and dedication of our entire team. We will commence delivery of spodumene concentrate to our customers in the coming weeks. First production signals the start of our ramp-up towards 3Mtpa capacity and, in partnership with our tier-1 offtake customers, paves the way for us to pursue our long-term strategy to be a globally significant supplier of battery minerals as the world transitions to a low-carbon future.
Despite its impressive progress, a collapse in lithium prices means that the Liontown share price remains down approximately 65% since this time last year.
