PLS tightens belt as lithium sales fall in prolonged winter for battery metal

Thu, 17 April 2025 8:22AM

Revenue at WA’s biggest pure play lithium miner has plunged as it cuts production to see through a sustained downturn in prices, while losing six days to a chaotic Pilbara cyclone season.

PLS — formerly — Pilbara Minerals sold 125,500 tonnes of spodumene concentrate between January and March, a 39 per cent decline on the three months before. Revenue fell 30 per cent from $216 million to $150m in line with the miner’s work to scale back production.

It comes after PLS put the Ngungaju plant — one of two processing plants at its Pilgangoora mining operations in the Pilbara — into care and maintenance in December after a prolonged period of low prices for the battery mineral.

The decision also meant about 50 jobs were cut from its operations, and the miner flagged on Thursday that it was working on more ways to cut costs further over coming financial years.

There was some relief in lithium prices over the period with a tonne of its highest quality product fetching $US851 over the three months compared with $US796 a tonne in the December quarter.

The miner has about $1.1 billion of cash in the bank.

Lithium prices are nearly half that of what PLS was making this time last year. Production costs also eked higher.

Tropical cyclone Zelia, one of several severe weather events that disrupting mining activities in the Pilbara over the quarter, cost the miner about six days of production.

Thursday’s figures comes as PLS shifts its focus to optimising Pilgan, the miner’s better-performing and lower-cost plant. The miner said ramp up at the plant had been completed and would be at full pelt in the June quarter in a bid to lift production volumes and bring down unit costs.