Perth, Western Australia, April 12, 2012 – Talison Lithium Limited (“Talison” or the “Company”) (TSX: TLH | US: TLTHF )
Lithium producer Talison Lithium's third-quarter sales rose 15 percent, helped by higher output.
The Perth, Australia-based company reported quarterly sales of 111,896 tonnes of lithium concentrate, up from 97,001 tonnes of lithium concentrate in the year-ago period.
Talison sold lithium for an average price of $340 per tonne, 12 percent above last year.
Production rose 6 percent to 93,563 tonnes of lithium concentrate.
Talison said production at its flagship Greenbushes in Western Australia will be shut down for about two weeks during May for expansion work.
Peter Oliver, Chief Executive Office and Managing Director, said, “During the quarter Talison achieved another record level of production at Greenbushes. This record was especially pleasing given the extensive construction activity currently underway to expand production capacity. The expansion is nearly complete and, together with the recent price increase, positions Talison strongly for the expected growth in the lithium market.”
Preliminary Production and Sales Volume
- Talison sold 111,896 tonnes lithium concentrate during Q3 FY2012 (or approximately 16,600 tonnes lithium carbonate equivalent (“LCE”)), a 15% increase compared to Q3 FY2011.
- Q3 FY2012 production was a record 93,563 tonnes lithium concentrate (approximately 14,000 tonnes LCE), a 6% increase compared to Q3 FY2011.
- The average sales price of lithium concentrates sold during Q3 FY2012 was US$340 per tonne, demonstrating the initial impact from the price increase that applied from January 2012.
- Sales of lithium concentrate materially matched production for the nine months ended March 31, 2012, with 267,432 tonnes of lithium concentrate (approximately 40,000 tonnes LCE) sold and 273,286 tonnes of lithium concentrate (approximately 40,500 tonnes LCE) produced.
* Tonnes of lithium concentrate
- From quarter to quarter sales volume and average sales price may vary as sales are made in large shipments that can be irregular in timing and in varying proportions of technical-grade and chemical-grade lithium concentrate.
- This includes the approximately 38,000 tonnes of Talison’s lithium concentrate sales that were delayed from December 2011.
Outlook
Talison expects to sell approximately 350,000 to 360,000 tonnes of lithium concentrate for the full year ending June 30, 2012, in line with earlier expectations.
Growth Projects
Greenbushes Stage 2 Expansion On Schedule and On Budget
The Stage 2 Expansion at the Greenbushes Lithium Operations continues to proceed on schedule and on budget.
The Expansion is now in the final stages of construction and will then move into the commissioning phase. Production will be shut-down for approximately two weeks during May to link the existing production circuits to the new expanded production circuits.
Work on the new chemical-grade plant as part of the Stage 2 Expansion at the Greenbushes Lithium Operations.
Proposed Minerals Conversion Plant
Talison is continuing to advance its plan to add value to the high-quality Greenbushes resource by developing a plant to convert lithium minerals into lithium carbonate.
The engineering study for the lithium carbonate plant has now commenced and Talison is finalising tenure arrangements for its preferred site in the Kwinana Industrial Area, Western Australia. Discussions with potential customers are continuing positively.
The Company anticipates making an investment decision on the project by the end of calendar 2012 and is targeting production of lithium carbonate in 2015.
Greenbushes Resource Development
Talison is undertaking additional resource definition drilling at the Greenbushes Lithium Operations. The objective is to increase lithium mineral reserves and extend mine life to support future additional expansions of the lithium concentrate processing plants and a potential doubling in capacity of the lithium carbonate plant.
Talison is targeting completion of the resource development program by the end of calendar 2012.
About Talison
Talison is a leading global producer of lithium and has been supplying a global customer network from the Greenbushes Lithium Operations in Western Australia for over 25 years. In anticipation of sustained growth in lithium consumption, driven primarily by the secondary lithium battery market, Talison is developing several growth projects including a lithium carbonate plant in Western Australia and a lithium brine exploration project in Chile.
To view the entire press release please visit: http://www.talisonlithium.com/investor-centre/news
