Develop Taps MLG on $70M Lithium Deal, Eyes First Sale This Year

Bill Beament's Develop Global locked in MLG Oz on a $70 million mining and crushing contract for the Pioneer Dome lithium project in Western Australia. The company expects to sell its first spodumene concentrate by the end of 2026.

The deal covers open pit mining, ore haulage and crushing. First ore delivery to the crushing circuit is scheduled for mid-2026. Develop said the contract gives it a fixed-cost processing pathway into what remains a volatile lithium pricing environment.

Spodumene concentrate, the lithium feedstock for battery supply chains, has traded in a wide band over the past 18 months. Chinese spot prices for 6% spodumene have ranged from roughly $800 a tonne to below $600. Develop's move to lock a contract miner early suggests management sees the cost structure as workable even in the lower half of that range.

The Pioneer Dome project sits in the Eastern Goldfields region, within trucking distance of port infrastructure at Esperance. Develop has said the deposit's mineralogy allows a simpler processing route than some peers, which could keep operating costs below the industry average.

MLG Oz operates a fleet of mining equipment and crushing plants across several Western Australian gold and lithium projects. The $70 million contract value implies a two-to-three-year operating window at Pioneer Dome, based on typical open-pit mining cost benchmarks.

Beament, a veteran of the Australian mining sector who built Develop around base and battery metals, has pushed the company toward production faster than many lithium juniors. The MLG deal removes one of the biggest execution risks for a new mine: proving it can move ore at a predictable cost.