Sydney, March 12th (Argus) - From July to December 2025, Australian lithium producer Liontown increased its lithium oxide production by 70% due to the expansion of underground mining operations.
The company stated in its financial report released on March 12th that it produced a total of 193,000 tons of lithium oxide in the second half of 2025.
The company plans to produce 365,000 - 450,000 tons of lithium oxide during the fiscal year from July 2025 to June 2026.
During the period from July to December 2025, Liontown's lithium oxide production increased, while the price of lithium also continued to rise. The average actual transaction price of Liontown's lithium oxide increased by 10% year-on-year. In July-December, based on a 6% lithium oxide price, its sales price reached $888 per ton.
The company's managing director, Tony Otaviano, said at the time that Liontown canceled the purchase agreement with the US producer Ford in October 2025, aiming to enable the company to better operate in the spot market and sell lithium oxide to new customers, thereby enhancing its flexibility.
The company signed a 150,000-ton (wet tons) lithium oxide purchase agreement with the Chinese producer Tianhua Company in December 2025. The pricing of this agreement is based on the lithium oxide index.
Liontown also took advantage of the rising lithium price in 2025 to sell lithium oxide through spot goods auctions. Otaviano said on December 9th that index-linked and platform-based spot sales help the company achieve the fair value of its products.
Liontown's unit operating cost reached A$985 per ton (approximately $703) during the period from July to December 2025, an increase of 13% compared to the same period of the previous year. This was due to mining costs and the classification processing of ore inventory.
However, the company's costs may decrease over time. The company has initiated a study to update a final feasibility study report on expanding the production capacity of its Katherine Valley mine (from 2.8 million tons per year to 4 million tons).
Liontown stated that the project is ready for development, but it still needs to be decided based on the research results and the company's approval situation. The company also said that the project may reduce the unit cost of the Katherine Valley mine.
