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    Pilgangoora P1000 TOMRA ore sorting: circuit design lessons for lithium engineers

    June 2, 2026|

    Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

    Pilgangoora P1000 TOMRA ore sorting: circuit design lessons for lithium engineers

    First reported on International Mining – News

    30 Second Briefing

    PLS’ Pilgangoora P1000 expansion in Western Australia has pushed TOMRA sensor-based ore sorting from trial phase to fully integrated unit operation in day-to-day hard rock lithium processing, after several years of continuous running. The industrial-scale installation is now delivering consistent spodumene feed quality and demonstrating stable performance under variable ore conditions, giving Pilgangoora greater long-term resource flexibility. For other lithium pegmatite projects, the case validates sensor-based sorting as a viable front-end circuit option to debottleneck plants and upgrade marginal ore.

    Technical Brief

    • TOMRA’s installation at Pilgangoora has accumulated several years of continuous industrial-scale operating hours.
    • The ore sorters are deployed on hard rock lithium pegmatite, not brine or clay feedstocks.
    • Sensor-based sorting is configured as a discrete unit operation within the Pilgangoora P1000 process flowsheet.
    • Integration into the expansion phase indicates the sorting circuit was engineered for brownfield tie-in constraints.
    • Stable performance has been maintained despite variable ore conditions across different Pilgangoora pegmatite domains.
    • Long-term use at Pilgangoora provides a rare multi-year performance dataset for lithium ore sorting vendors.
    • For other large pegmatite mines, Pilgangoora now serves as a full-scale reference site for TOMRA technology.

    Our Take

    Our database shows multiple recent Pilgangoora items – from the P1000 ramp‑up to the new Canmax spodumene offtake – which suggests TOMRA’s ore sorting is being embedded in a mine already scaling both capacity and downstream commercial commitments.

    With ARENA funding a lower‑emission processing demonstration plant at the same Pilgangoora operation, PLS is effectively trialling both front‑end (ore sorting) and back‑end (electrified calcination via Calix) technologies, positioning this Western Australian lithium hub as a test bed for full‑chain efficiency gains.

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    Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.

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