The Greenbushes lithium mine, in Western Australia, is set to produce at full capacity for the remainder of the calendar year, after the owners of the mine agreed a further spodumene concentrate supply deal.
IGO reports that the Greenbushes holding company will sell SC6.0 spodumene concentrate Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia (TLEA), which will ultimately sell it on to Tianqui Lithium Corporation (TLC).
During the March quarter, the Greenbushes mine, which is a 51:49 JV between TLEA and Albemarle, produced 280 000 t of spodumene, which is a 22% quarter-on-quarter decrease as the operating team worked to manage concentrate inventory at site as a result of reduced sales.
Sales revenue from the mine (on a 100% basis) plunged by 78% to A$285.9-million, owing to lower realised prices and lower sales volumes.
The average realised price for total spodumene sales achieved in the third quarter was $1 034/t, compared with $3 016/t in the prior quarter.
A decrease in IGO’s share of net profit from TLEA, together with lower sales volumes at its Nova and Forrestania operations, resulted in an underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) loss of A$15-million for the March quarter.
“IGO’s March-quarter results reflect a period in which nickel and lithium markets remained subdued, while sales were also lower compared to the prior quarter. Whilst this resulted in IGO recording a small Ebitda loss of A$15-million, our balance sheet remains strong with A$276-million cash on hand and no debt,” said IGO MD and CEO Ivan Vella.
Edited by: Creamer Media Reporter
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