Global Lithium Resources Limited has completed the Manna-Nova Operation Integration Study for the Manna Lithium Project in Western Australia, lifting the post-tax net present value by 100% and cutting required pre-production funding by more than half compared to the December 2025 Definitive Feasibility Study.

The integration study evaluates hauling ore 135 kilometres from the Manna project to be processed at the recently acquired Nova facility, removing the requirement to construct a greenfield concentrator on site.

The updated evaluation puts the post-tax NPV8 at A$946 million, up from A$472.4 million in the December 2025 DFS. Pre-production capital expenditure drops 59% from A$439.1 million to A$180.1 million, while the projected payback period narrows from 3.5 years to 0.9 years from production start. The post-tax IRR rises to 120%, compared to 25.7% previously.

Probable Ore Reserves for the project increased by 8% to 21 million tonnes at 0.89% Li2O, supporting a 13-year mine life. Life-of-mine concentrate production is projected at 2,684.3 kilotonnes, with average annual production of 257 kilotonnes of SC5.5 for the first seven years.

"This Study confirms the assessment we made when we moved on Nova in July. Combining Manna's lithium resources with existing, commissioned processing infrastructure has changed both the economics and the timeline of this project."

"Converting an operating plant instead of building one from the ground up brings Manna into production sooner and with materially less capital at risk. Just as importantly, the value uplift here has not come from taking on more risk - it has come from removing it. Less capital deployed, a shorter path to first revenue, and infrastructure that is already built, commissioned and operating."

— Dr Dianmin Chen, Managing Director

The development timeline targets a first Direct Shipping Ore shipment in May 2027, generating early revenue ahead of first spodumene concentrate production in mid-2027. Global Lithium received approval for the Mining Development and Closure Proposal for the project on 4 August 2026 to authorise early works and critical infrastructure, with a Final Investment Decision scheduled for the December quarter of 2026.

Read the full announcement: Manna-Nova Integration Study increases post-tax NPV by 100%