Pilgangoora lithium operation by PLS (formerly Pilbara Minerals): status and timeline

Pilgangoora lithium operation

Grow from about 1 Mt to about 2 Mt of concentrate a year at low cost, so the mine stays profitable through lithium price cycles while supplying battery demand.

ScalingStage 5 of 5

Ngungaju plant restarted July 2026; FY27 output guided at 1.03-1.10 Mt; P2000 feasibility study due Q4 2026.

Updated 30 Jul 2026Checked 11 Oct0 updates this week

Milestones

Next · P2000 feasibility study results

P1000 expansion approved (A$560M)29 Mar 2023Complete.
P680 expansion completed2 Aug 2024Complete.
Ngungaju plant put on care and maintenanceDec 2024Complete.
P1000 expansion first ore31 Jan 2025Complete.
Ngungaju plant restartedJul 2026Complete.
P2000 feasibility study resultsTarget Q4 2026+12 mo~~originally Q4 2025~~Current milestone.

Most important updates

Upcoming

Q4 2026P2000 feasibility study results+12 mo~~originally Q4 2025~~ (next)

Current obstacles

Price-driven start-stopWeak prices idled Ngungaju from late 2024; bringing it back costs output during ramp-up, and PLS guided a softer September 2026 quarter.
Funding P2000Doubling capacity needs a new concentrator; the investment decision depends on lithium prices and the feasibility study, already a year late.
Lithium recoveryOnly about three-quarters of the lithium in the ore (75-78% in FY26) ends up in the concentrate; the rest is lost to tailings.

Physics limits

Spodumene is a dilute oreOre holds only about 1.3% lithium oxide, so tonnes of rock must be mined and processed for each tonne of concentrate, and more again for battery-grade chemicals.
Concentrate still needs heat-intensive refiningSpodumene must be roasted above 1,000 C to change its crystal form before acid can leach the lithium, an energy-hungry step done by separate refiners.
Flotation can't catch every grainFine or mixed grains of spodumene and waste minerals don't separate cleanly, so a share of the lithium is always lost to tailings.

How it works

3 parts

Mine

Open pits in pegmatite

Lithium-rich pegmatite veins are drilled, blasted and hauled from open pits; waste rock is stripped to reach them.

Separate

Density and flotation

Crushed ore is separated by density and then by froth flotation, where chemicals make spodumene grains cling to bubbles and float off.

Ship

Concentrate to converters

The roughly 6% lithium oxide concentrate is trucked to Port Hedland and shipped to refiners that make lithium hydroxide or carbonate.

Spec sheet

Spec	Pilgangoora lithium operation
FY26 concentrate production	879,500 t^R (reported)
FY27 production guidance	1.03-1.10 Mt^R (reported)
Pilgangoora capacity after P1000	Up to 1 Mt/yr^R (reported)
Ngungaju plant capacity	~200,000 t/yr^R (reported)
FY27 unit operating cost guidance	A$575-625/t FOB^R (reported)
Mineral resource (Mar 2025)	446 Mt at 1.28% Li2O^R (reported)
FY26 revenue	A$1.93B^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Update log

4 updates

About PLS (formerly Pilbara Minerals)

The team behind Pilgangoora lithium operation

PLS (formerly Pilbara Minerals)

Hard-rock lithium, spodumene concentrate

PLS, called Pilbara Minerals until late 2025, mines lithium-bearing rock at Pilgangoora in Western Australia and sells it as spodumene concentrate to battery-chemical makers. It also owns the Colina lithium project in Brazil.

Record FY26 output of about 880,000 t of spodumene concentrate; FY27 guidance 1.03-1.10 Mt.
Restarted its smaller Ngungaju plant in July 2026 after about 19 months idle in the lithium price slump.
Feasibility study on P2000, which could double Pilgangoora to about 2 Mt a year, due by end of 2026.

pls.com (opens pls.com)Company profile →

Headquarters: Australia
Status: Public
Listed: PLSASX
Valuation: public
Works in: MaterialsLithium & critical minerals
Coverage: 1 program · 4 updateslatest 30 Jul 2026checked 11 Oct
Customers: Canmax Technologies (opens mining-technology.com)
Partners: POSCO
People: Dale HendersonManaging Director & CEOKathleen ConlonChair

Spec

Pilgangoora lithium operation

FY26 concentrate production

879,500 t^R (reported)

FY27 production guidance

1.03-1.10 Mt^R (reported)

Pilgangoora capacity after P1000

Up to 1 Mt/yr^R (reported)

Ngungaju plant capacity

~200,000 t/yr^R (reported)

FY27 unit operating cost guidance

A$575-625/t FOB^R (reported)

Mineral resource (Mar 2025)

446 Mt at 1.28% Li2O^R (reported)

FY26 revenue

A$1.93B^R (reported)

Pilgangoora lithium operation

Milestones

Most important updates

Upcoming

Current obstacles

Physics limits

How it works

Open pits in pegmatite

Density and flotation

Concentrate to converters

Spec sheet

Update log

Thu 30 Jul

Tue 10 Feb

Tue 29 Oct 2024

Wed 29 Mar 2023

About PLS (formerly Pilbara Minerals)

Current obstacles

Physics limits

How it works

Open pits in pegmatite

Density and flotation

Concentrate to converters

Spec sheet

Update log

Thu 30 Jul

Tue 10 Feb

Tue 29 Oct 2024

Wed 29 Mar 2023

About PLS (formerly Pilbara Minerals)