LITHIUM MINES AND MINING – WESTERN AUSTRALIA

MinRes job cuts add to thousands lost in WA’s mining sector route

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 7-Aug-24

A spokesman for Mineral Resources has confirmed that the iron ore and lithium producer will reduce its head count, although the bulk of the job cuts will be at its Perth head office. Mineral Resources has not disclosed the extent of the job losses, although it is believed to be about 100. The move follows the company’s recent decision to mothball its high-cost iron ore mines in Western Australia’s Yilgarn region and a delay in the expansion of the Wodgina lithium mine. WA’s mining sector has already been hit by massive job losses in the nickel industry in 2024.

CORPORATES
MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN

Liontown wants lithium breaks as prices teeter

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 7-Aug-24

Association of Mining & Exploration Companies CEO Warren Pearce says it is holding talks with the Western Australian government with regard to royalty relief for lithium producers. The price of spodumene has fallen to $US870 ($1,337) per tonne, and Liontown Resources CEO Tony Ottaviano contends that the government should intervene in order to avert a similar crisis to the rout that hit the nation’s industry. He has also suggested that the federal government should expand its production tax credit scheme to include the upstream processing of spodumene.

CORPORATES
ASSOCIATION OF MINING AND EXPLORATION COMPANIES, LIONTOWN RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX LTR

Liontown finally moves to send lithium to China

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 16-Jul-24

Australian-listed lithium producer Liontown Resources has previously refused to strike offtake deals with Chinese companies. However, Liontown has reach a 10-month deal to supply 100,000 tonnes of spodumene to Shenzhen Stock Exchange-listed Sinomine; this deal will help Liontown to get through a period when its Kathleen Valley project in Western Australia is likely to be operating at a loss. Liontown CEO Tony Ottaviano recently acknowledged that it cannot ignore the "biggest market in the world", given that China accounts for 80 per cent of global demand for lithium.

CORPORATES
LIONTOWN RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX LTR, SINOMINE RESOURCE GROUP LIMITED, SHENZHEN STOCK EXCHANGE

Liontown’s future tied to $379m LG deal

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 3-Jul-24

Liontown Resources will issue South Korea-based LG Energy Solutions with five-year convertible notes as part of a $US250m ($379m) deal to help finance the Kathleen Valley lithium project in Western Australia. Based on Liontown’s current share price, LG would emerge with an equity stake of about eight per cent in the company if it chooses to fully convert the notes. LG has also extended its existing five-year offtake deal with Liontown by a decade. Meanwhile, Liontown CEO Tony Ottaviano has flagged the potential to build a battery chemical refinery in partnership with LG.

CORPORATES
LIONTOWN RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX LTR, LG ENERGY SOLUTIONS

Lithium, nickel need bailout now

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 13-Feb-24

Liontown Resources CEO Tony Ottaviano has called for royalty relief for lithium and nickel producers in a bid to prevent further mine closures and job losses. The Western Australian government implemented a 12-month, 50 per cent royalty break for the lithium sector in late 2020 when lithium prices last tumbled, and Ottaviano says it is time for similar royalty relief for lithium and in the collapsing nickel sector. Ottaviano said royalty relief would not impact Liontown straight away, as its Kathleen Valley lithium project in WA is still around six months away from its first production but it would be good to factor it into cash flow.

CORPORATES
LIONTOWN RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX LTR

Australia’s top lithium mine to trim output

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 30-Jan-24

IGO has confirmed that production at the Greenbushes lithium mine in Western Australia would be likely to be "marginally reduced" over the next five months, with Greenbushes being Australia’s biggest and most lucrative lithium mine. IGO and Tianqi own 51 per cent of Greenbushes under a joint venture, with the remaining 49 per cent owned by New York-listed Albemarle. The owners of Greenbushes place a priority on the production of battery-grade lithium chemicals, and with reduced demand for battery-grade lithium chemicals resulting from weaker-than-expected electric vehicle sales, Albemarle and Tianqi have elected to order less lithium from Greenbushes.

CORPORATES
IGO LIMITED – ASX IGO, TIANQI LITHIUM CORPORATION, ALBERMARLE CORPORATION

Miners call for critical minerals aid

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker, Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 15 : 23-Jan-24

Shares in Liontown Resources fell almost 22 per cent on Monday after its lending syndicate announced it would withdraw a $760 million it had offered as recently as October. It was prompted by a forecast by commodities’ agency Wood Mackenzie that the price of lithium would remain at around $US950 a tonne until 2028, with Liontown seeking to develop the Kathleen Valley lithium project in Western Australia. Liontown MD Tony Ottaviano says $US950 a tonne is "a very, very low price", while federal Resources Minister Catherine King and WA Mines Minister David Michael are to hold crisis talks with nickel and lithium producers.

CORPORATES
LIONTOWN RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX LTR, WOOD MACKENZIE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND RESOURCES, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF MINES, INDUSTRY REGULATION AND SAFETY

Rinehart, SQM unite for $1.7b Azure bid

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 20-Dec-23

Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has teamed up with Chile-based lithium miner SQM to make a joint bid for Azure Minerals. The target’s board had backed a takeover offer from SQM pitched at $3.52 per share in late October, but Hancock subsequently acquired an 18.4 per cent blocking stake in Azure. Hancock and SQM currently have a combined stake of 37.8 per cent in Azure, and have made a cash offer of $3.70 per share. They will pursue an on-market bid priced at $3.65 per share if the scheme of arrangement bid does not succeed.

CORPORATES
AZURE MINERALS LIMITED – ASX AZS, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, SOCIEDAD QUIMICA Y MINERA SA

WA lithium mine pauses production

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker, Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 29-Nov-23

Mineral Resources has advised that mining operations at the Wodgina hard rock lithium mine in the Pilbara has resumed following a fire at its processing plant on 24 November. However, Mineral Resources says that processing of spodumene rock is still on hold and it is uncertain as to when this will resume. However, the company does not expect the temporary suspension to have any impact on shipments. It also says the cause of the fire is still being investigated. Wodgina is the world’s third-largest hard rock lithium mine.

CORPORATES
MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN

Rinehart’s war chest full for lithium spree

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 & 28 : 28-Oct-23

The owners of the Roy Hill iron ore mine received $2.25bn in dividends in the year to 30 September, and an additional $800m in October. Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting was paid almost $2.14bn in dividends, as the largest shareholder in the Roy Hill project. Roy Hill has posted a full-year net profit of $2.7bn, compared with $3.16bn previously, while it shipped a record 63.3 million tonnes of iron ore. The remaining mine life of the existing Roy Hill resource is estimated to be less than 10 years, and Hancock Prospecting is ramping up its investment in the lithium sector. It has built an 18 per cent stake in takeover target Azure Minerals, having previously taken a 19.9 per cent stake in Liontown Resources.

CORPORATES
ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, AZURE MINERALS LIMITED – ASX AZS, LIONTOWN RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX LTR