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The auction, attracting over 50 buyers from nine countries, was conducted on Metalshub, a software platform for metals, mining, and recycling, founded in 2016.
Set for shipment in 2026, the auctioned concentrate was secured for a winning bid of US$1,254/ dry metric tonne (dmt) for SC6.0-equivalent product.
“This is an outstanding result and a clear validation of our strategy. We believe a transparent, tangible and auditable digital auction would strengthen price discovery for spodumene concentrate,” said Liontown Managing Director and CEO Tony Ottaviano.
“(The) outcome demonstrates the market is improving and buyers have the confidence to engage competitively when given a fair and open platform.”
Located about 60 kilometres north of Leinster and 680 kilometres north-east of Perth, Kathleen Valley has as a current mineral resource estimate of 155 million tonnes at 1.3 percent lithium oxide and 131 parts per million tantalum pentoxide.
According to Liontown’s website, work commenced at Kathleen Valley in 2017, following construction in 2022. First spodumene production happened in 2024.
The company also provided an update on Kathleen Valley in its September quarterly report, saying that the open pit is nearing completion and underground production is scaling.
“We’re entering the next phase at Kathleen Valley. As cleaner underground ore increasingly feeds the mill, recoveries will improve and we remain on track to meet our 70 percent lithia recovery target by the end of the third quarter of 2026.”
Liontown stated that it intends to hold additional online auctions on the Metalshub platform through 2026 and beyond. However, details of future business-as-usual auctions will not be released.
