Australia lithium miners start cost-cutting drive on price rout
Australia lithium miners are cutting jobs, trimming exploration budgets and reviewing dividend payments following a slump in prices of the key component in electric-vehicle batteries.
Core Lithium will cut “a number of roles” across the organization during the March quarter due to the current market conditions, the company said in its quarterly report released Wednesday. The producer announced a suspension at its mining operation near Darwin in the country’s north earlier this month.
To help preserve its balance sheet, Pilbara Minerals Ltd. said on Wednesday it’s unlikely to pay a dividend for the half-year ended Dec. 31. The company made the announcement in its quarterly report, along with plans to reduce its annual exploration spend. That cut could be as much as A$100-million.
The latest cost-cutting efforts follow top lithium miner Albemarle’s announcement last week that it’s reducing project spending and costs, including headcount. Prices of spodumene — a lithium-bearing rock — have extended losses in January after plunging 80% last year.
Core Lithium also trimmed its exploration and study budget from A$40 million to A$35-million to A$29-million to A$27-million. The company reported a 39% increase in spodumene concentrate production for the second quarter, while Pilbara Minerals posted a 22% gain for the three-month period.
Pilbara Minerals said spodumene concentrate prices would remain volatile in the near-term, but that the “long-term outlook remains positive with an expected structural deficit of lithium materials supply relative to expected demand.”
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Showroom
SmartMine IoT has been developed with the mining industry in mind, to provides our customers with powerful business intelligence and data modelling...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Goodwin Submersible Pumps Africa is sole distributors for Goodwin electrically driven, submersible, abrasion resistance slurry pumps.
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
