- Spodumene and tantalum concentrate producer Pilbara Minerals (PLS) has recorded improvements at its Pilgangoora Project during the September quarter
- The company saw an increase in plant run-time and utilisation rates, which landed between 70 and 75 per cent, which is an increase from 40 per cent in the June quarter
- Pilbara also saw an increase in production, with 62,404 dry metric tonnes (dmt) of spodumene concentrate mined
- Spodumene concentrate shipment sales were in line with expectations, totalling 43,630 dmt for the quarter — which is also higher than June’s result
- However, despite the sale volumes, the price of spodumene concentrate is weak
- Pilbara says this reflects the sustained lower pricing and demand across the lithium raw materials and chemicals supply chain
- Nevertheless, Pilbara Minerals is up 2.67 per cent on the market this afternoon, trading for 38.5 cents per share
Spodumene and tantalum concentrate producer Pilbara Minerals (PLS) has recorded improvements at its Pilgangoora Project during the September quarter.
The company saw an increase in plant run-time and utilisation rates at the mine, which jumped to between 70 and 75 per cent — an increase from the 40 per cent recorded in the June quarter.
The higher plant utilisation and continued high product recovery contributed to a lower-than-average unit cash operating cost of US$355 (around A$491) per dry metric tonnes (dmt) for the quarter.
Pilbara also saw an increase in production, with 62,404 dry metric tonnes (dmt) of spodumene concentrate mined — nearly double June’s 34,484 dmt.
Spodumene concentrate shipment sales were in line with expectations, totalling 43,630 dmt for the quarter — which is also higher than June’s result.
Speaking to the results, PLS says these trends show the strong progress Pilbara Minerals has made in improving Pilgangoora’s operational performance.
However, despite the sale volumes, the price of spodumene concentrate is weak. Pilbara says this reflects the sustained lower pricing and demand across the lithium raw materials and chemicals supply chain.
“The tangible progress that has been achieved on a number of fronts at Pilgangoora during the quarter is a credit to the continued hard work and dedication of our team and contractor business partners,” CEO Ken Brinsden said.
“The pleasing trends seen in the September quarter, together with the recently
completed refinancing, gives us confidence that we can weather the current market conditions and quickly ramp-up production and shipments as demand and prices recover,” he added.
Pilbara Minerals is up 2.67 per cent on the market this afternoon and is trading for 38.5 cents per share at 1:44 pm AEDT.