Rumoured spot cargo premium buoys hope of further lithium price gains as Liontown eyes Kathleen Valley growth

Liontown is eager to expand its Kathleen Valley mine amid a lithium price run that appears to still have legs following a rumoured spot cargo sale by one of its WA rivals. The opening three months of 2026 delivered Liontown its “strongest financial quarter” since production at Kathleen Valley began in July 2024, with a $33 million positive net cash flow for the March quarter. Kathleen Valley’s 1.5 million tonne a year annualised underground run-rate was achieved early in the quarter, ahead of schedule, according to Liontown. It held net cash of $61m at quarter’s end but investors were expecting a bigger cash build — Liontown’s shares lost 3.3 per cent to end Thursday at $2.35. But the Tony Ottaviano-led miner’s value has still risen more than fourfold from a year ago when the market was worried that a depressed lithium market would deplete Liontown’s liquidity before Kathleen Valley could get through a cash burning ramp up phase. “The team is now building for what comes next,” Mr Ottaviano said on Thursday “Our expansion study is underway with early works and long-lead procurement committed; we are finishing the financial year with genuine momentum in unlocking the full potential of Kathleen Valley.” The benchmark price of the spodumene concentrate that Liontown and all of WA’s other lithium miners produce is currently $US2500 a tonne, having risen from beneath $US600 in June last year. Prices could soon go higher after sources told The West Australian that SQM on Wednesday sold a cargo of spodumene concentrate from the Mt Holland mine it shares with Wesfarmers on the spot market for an average of $US2700/t. That price is based on the adjusted benchmark grade of six per cent. SQM declined to comment.