Pilbara Minerals expects to swing to first-half loss
Australia's Pilbara Minerals said on Monday it expects to swing to an underlying loss for the first half, as it placed one of its two processing plants in care and maintenance owing to a steep drop in lithium prices.
A nearly 86% plunge in the price of the metal, used in electric vehicle batteries, from its November 2022 peak has forced companies to either curtail operations or delay expansion of their lithium-producing mines.
Pilbara placed its lower capacity and higher cost Ngungaju plant in Pilgangoora into care and maintenance in December, and focused on ramping up its Pilgan plant.
The average realised sales price for spodumene concentrate, used to make lithium, was $688/t for the six months ended December 31, more than half of $1 645/t it earned in the prior year.
The pure-play lithium miner expects an underlying after-tax net loss for the first half of A$5-million ($3.12-million) to A$7-million. It reported an underlying profit of A$273-million last year.
On a statutory basis, it expects an after-tax net loss of A$68-million to A$71-million, compared with a profit of A$200-million last year.
The statutory results include construction costs associated with its demonstration plant project, and the company's share of net loss from its joint venture with POSCO reflecting ramp-up phase and current lower market prices for lithium hydroxide, it said.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
Goodwin Submersible Pumps Africa is sole distributors for Goodwin electrically driven, submersible, abrasion resistance slurry pumps.
VISIT SHOWROOM
Immersive Technologies is the world's largest, proven and tested supplier of simulator training solutions to the global resources industry.
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
