Iluka Resources (ASX:ILU) has suspended production at the Cataby mine and its SR2 synthetic rutile kiln at Capel as the company looks to navigate subdued demand for mineral sands and some downstream products.
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The suspension – which the company has promised will be temporary – will come into effect on December 1 after a slowdown period for on-site teams.
The move is “prudent,” managing director Tom O’Leary explained, and will allow Iluka to navigate “uncertainty in mineral sands” through the coming year – as well as position for a recovery once things tick up again.
“[This halt] reflects the discipline that is a longstanding feature of Iluka’s approach,” Mr O’Leary said today. “The suspension will enable inventory and cash liberation, cost savings, and the preservation of balance sheet strength.”
Despite the suspension, Iluka holds enough inventory of both synthetic rutile and chloride ilmenite, both of which are produced at Cataby and processed at SR2, to meet customer demands during the downtime.
SR2 production should be halted for around six months, HotCopper understands, while Cataby should re-fire sometime around December 2026.
“Iluka is well positioned to respond to any improvement in demand conditions and retains the ability to restart Cataby and SR2 quickly when that production is required,” Mr O’Leary declared as a full stop today.
The biggest marker for the restart will be a positive price swing in markets.
Elsewhere, Iluka is still proceeding with works at Jacinth Ambrosia in South Australia.
The company’s new mine at Balranald in New South Wales is still being commissioned, too, with first mining scheduled for Q4 2025. It’s proceeding, the company explained, because it has “a product mix different to Cataby.”
ILU heads into mid-week trade selling at $6.47 a share.
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