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Australia's lithium market seen bearing force of supply cuts

Arcadium Lithium on Wednesday signed up with a growing list of manufacturers evaluating lithium operations in Australia amidst a thrashing in rates for the battery basic material that is expected to lead to more production cuts.

The lithium market is reeling from rapid supply growth that has actually surpassed strong projections for need from several years ago as uptake of electrical lorries has been slower than expected.

Arcadium is reassessing its Mount Cattlin operations in Western Australia provided high expenses and falling prices of raw product spodumene, CEO Paul Graves stated on Wednesday as the miner revealed a round of cost cuts to its global service.

That comes a week after leading lithium manufacturer Albemarle announced job cuts at its lithium hydroxide plant in the state, where it paused a growth as part of a comprehensive. review of its global cost and operating structure.

Showing compressed margins for manufacturers, area prices for. spodumene << AM-LI2O5 > in top consumer China are hovering around. $ 940 a metric heap, the most affordable in nearly 3 years.

Goldman Sachs expects spodumene costs to average $800 over. the next year.

Australia which provides a little less than half of the. world's lithium, and is higher cost than South American salt water. producers, is most likely to bear the brunt of the next round of. production cuts, analysts stated.

In locations like China and Africa, high cost supply has. already closed, except for integrated mines owned by chemical or. battery producers that have actually been able to turn earnings somewhere else. in their business.

That leaves Australia where mines are not totally incorporated,. which indicates their owners are more exposed to a recession in. costs, said expert Glyn Lawcock of financial investment bank Barrenjoey.

If we don't get any more announcements, no more closures,. and the ramp ups that are in progress continue, then it does feel. like there's probably a few quarters of tough footy for the. lithium area, he stated.

Supply is still growing in some quarters from single possession. companies that have no option however to continue building and. because it's their only source of cash flow, he added.

That would apply to Australia's Liontown Resources. which has simply begun production at its 500,000 loads per year. Kathleen Valley job while Pilbara Minerals has also. just completed a growth.

High expense mines in Australia include Mt Marion, Wodgina and. Bald Hill, owned by diversified miner Mineral Resources. , which decreased to comment.

MinRes delivered just under 500,000 dry metric tons of the raw. material in the fiscal year ended in June. Mount Cattlin. delivered around 205,000 tons in the 2023 financial year.

Mineral Resources said in its quarterly report last month. that it would continue to closely view the market, as it. flagged a hold-up to an organized growth at its Wodgina mine.

The current market is not as strong as we had thought. Rates have actually been affected by softer EV need from U.S. and. Europe, financier relations supervisor Chris Chong said on a call. to experts.

(source: Reuters)