Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR) has fired its first underground production stope at Kathleen Valley, marking the official start of underground mining at Australia’s first underground lithium operation — and it’s right on schedule.
The inaugural blast at the Mt Mann orebody yielded around 1,500 tonnes of ore, part of a larger 12,000-tonne stope designed to support about two days’ worth of processing plant feed. While this is just the start, it’s a major milestone as Liontown begins shifting from open pit to full underground production over the next 18 months.
Underground mining: a smarter way to mine lithium?
Unlike traditional open-pit methods, underground mining offers some key advantages — and Liontown is banking on them. Cleaner ore extraction (less dilution), better fragmentation, and higher lithia recoveries are just some of the expected benefits.
And the early signs are promising: trial processing of earlier development ore (grading ~1.5% Li₂O) delivered recoveries above 70%, confirming that the underground ore performs just as expected — with even more improvements anticipated through future optimisation.
What’s next?
Liontown will now push ahead with development of the underground decline, progressively opening up more working areas as it ramps up output. The goal is to have the processing plant supplied entirely by underground ore (plus some stockpiles) by the fourth quarter of FY26.
CEO Tony Ottaviano called the start of underground stoping “a proud milestone” and credited strong planning, a capable team, and support from mining contractor Byrnecut for delivering the blast right on time. “This milestone further strengthens our foundations for long-term value creation and future shareholder returns,” he said.
For investors, this isn’t just about hitting targets — it’s a real-world demonstration that the transition to underground mining is going smoothly, putting Liontown in a strong position to optimise value and maintain momentum through FY26.
