" Pilbara Minerals expects ‘fairly material’ uptick in lithium...

" Pilbara Minerals expects ‘fairly material’ uptick in lithium prices :

Pilbara Minerals chief executive Dale Henderson says the lithium market looks “very positive” after a price rally over the past 60 days stoked hopes that a tough year for the sector might be over.Pilbara received an average price of $US804 a tonne for the lithium-rich spodumene concentrate it sold in the first three months of 2024; down 28 per cent on the previous quarter and 83 per cent lower than prices received at the same time last year.CEO Dale Henderson: “Over the last 60 days to the 16th of April, we have seen a 27 per cent [price] increase for spodumene concentrate.” Trevor CollensBut Mr Henderson said prices had risen sequentially between January and February, then again between February and March. The company sold one small batch for $US1106 a tonne in March.“When you look at the past 60 days up to mid-April, the increases are fairly material,” he told investors on Friday.“Over the last 60 days to the 16th of April, we have seen a 27 per cent [price] increase for spodumene concentrate.”Updated: Apr 20, 2024 – 6.58pm. View PLS related articles Mr Henderson said the 27 per cent price rise for spodumene over the past 60 days was an average taken across five different price-reporting agencies, and higher prices had also been reported for battery-grade products like lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide.Lithium is a crucial ingredient in the modern batteries that power many devices, including electric vehicles.Mr Henderson said his company was not stockpiling ore and was encouraged by the 32 per cent growth in electric vehicle sales in the first three months of the year.“We are getting pushed for more supply, so our insight into the industry is very positive in terms of demand for our product and the direction of the industry,” he said.“The emergence of this lithium industry remains well underway with a long runway ahead.”The company boosted production volumes by 2 per cent over the past three months, which helped keep unit costs – including the cost of shipping to customers in Asia – lower at $US519 a tonne.That means Pilbara is still profitable at current lithium prices, despite several rivals like Core Lithium shutting Australian mines amid the price slump.Pilbara Minerals’ Pilgangoora project in Port Hedland, Western Australia. Carla GottgensPilbara’s cash balance declined from $2.1 billion to $1.8 billion over the three-month period as it spent money on mine and processing expansion projects in Western Australia.The cash balance was also dented by a $218 million return of cash to customers who had bought lithium late last year while lithium prices were sliding rapidly.Those sorts of periodic pricing adjustments are common in the mining industry and tend to favour miners when prices are rising while hurting miners when prices are sliding.The spodumene Pilbara exports via Port Hedland contains 5.3 per cent lithium; slightly less than the benchmark Australian product which contains 6 per cent lithium.Pilbara’s received price of $US804 a tonne implies the benchmark price for spodumene with 6 per cent lithium – the key reference price for Australian miners – was closer to $US927 a tonne over the past three months.Analysts at Jarden said Pilbara’s received price was 6 per cent better than expected and the quarterly result was “robust”.Mr Henderson said his company’s lithium hydroxide processing plant in South Korea – a joint venture with Korean giant POSCO – was now ramping up and making early trial batches of the battery ingredient. "