PLS Group commits to $2.5B lithium expansion
- PLS Group approved a $2.5 billion expansion plan to more than double annual lithium output at its Pilgangoora mine.
- Shares in PLS Group rose $0.10 or 3.4% to $3.07 following the announcement.
- The company stated that the investment is designed to increase production scale and lower operational costs over the long term.
PLS Group (ASX:PLS) signed off on a $2.5 billion expansion plan at its Pilgangoora mine in Western Australia to boost output beyond 2 million tonnes a year.
The commitment comes despite lithium prices falling from US$1,715 a tonne to US$1,355 a tonne over the past week.
"It’s a material step up. It cements us as one of the [world’s] supply majors. This is an investment that makes us not only larger but also lower cost," said PLS Group CEO Dale Henderson.
The outlay includes $1.9 billion in capital expenditure for a new processing plant and roughly $600 million for additional infrastructure.
New production volumes are scheduled to come online in the September quarter of 2029.
Following the announcement, the PLS Group share price was up at $2.98.
Competitor Liontown (ASX:LTR) recently approved a $389 million expansion at its Kathleen Valley project to reach 800,000 tonnes of annual output by 2034.
Rivals Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) and Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) have also restarted mothballed operations or increased output to capture growing battery demand.
