This Month
Gold saves the day as Diggers deals with the nickel and lithium rout
The annual Kalgoorlie conference was abuzz with the hopes and dreams of nickel and critical minerals groups – last year. How different things are now.
- Brad Thompson
Creasy in talks to buy Macquarie’s $148m debt at bombed-out gold miner
Sources say the trade has been agreed at (or close to) par with its carrying value, meaning Macquarie would make whole on its money.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Arcadium flags it may have to shut Mt Cattlin amid low lithium prices
The chief executive of the world’s third-biggest lithium company, Paul Graves, says few mines make sense at current prices.
- Peter Ker
Liontown pleads case for fast-tracking lithium royalty relief
Liontown Resources boss Tony Ottaviano says governments must act sooner rather than later on fiscal policy to avoid a repeat of the nickel exodus.
- Brad Thompson
MinRes joins job cuts carnage in WA mining
The Chris Ellison-led Mineral Resources is slashing its white-collar workforce amid iron ore mine closures and a retreat in its lithium expansion plans.
- Brad Thompson
Texas-headquartered EnergyX lobs $US150m bid for Galan Lithium
EnergyX’s proposal, lobbed on July 11, sought to acquire Galan’s assets in the Salar del Hombre Muerto region within the so-called lithium golden triangle.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Korea seeks Australian lithium to secure US subsidies, sideline China
The US offers electric carmakers tax breaks for sourcing components from it and its free trade partners such as Australia and South Korea, not China.
- Elouise Fowler and Michael Read
US blocks subsidies for Albemarle lithium made in Australia
Albemarle says a block to subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act had been a major factor in its decision to slash workforce and to curtail investment in WA.
- Brad Thompson and Elouise Fowler
Labor may speed up tax credit as lithium miners buckle
The Albanese government may bring forward the $17.6 billion critical minerals production tax credit after Albemarle said it would slash 300 jobs and shrink its giant WA facility.
- Updated
- Elouise Fowler
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
The lithium bubble has popped with stunning speed
Production cuts from Albemarle are bad news for Australia’s struggling lithium sector. But the market needs more bad news before it can recover.
- Updated
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Opinion
Albemarle sounds warning on critical minerals processing
The US-based firm’s decision to reduce output from its lithium hydroxide plant and write down much of its investment demonstrates the flaws in Australia’s plan for greater domestic processing of critical minerals.
- Jennifer Hewett
July
Goyder toasts history for Liontown at Kathleen Valley
Liontown Resources says it has bucked the odds to deliver the world’s newest lithium mine on time, and on budget. It could be Australia’s last for a while.
- Brad Thompson
Why Rio Tinto wants a bigger presence in lithium and copper
‘I couldn’t care less about what the lithium price is in the next 12 months,’ says chief executive Jakob Stausholm.
- Updated
- Peter Ker
MinRes in $600m pre-sale of iron ore to boost balance sheet
But analysts grilled the company on the deal with an unnamed buyer, describing it as “fascinating” accounting treatment. It has debts of more than $4 billion.
- Brad Thompson
Survival of the fittest in lithium, says Pilbara Minerals boss
The company’s chief executive says lithium supply from bit players starting to wither away is a sign the price has reached a new floor.
- Brad Thompson
Mining boss calls for policy changes with more jobs in danger
The boss of WA’s peak resources lobby group says the Albanese government needs to step up to prevent more job losses.
- Brad Thompson and Tom Rabe
These cheap mining stocks still offer opportunity for investors
A drop in mining business valuations has opened a window of opportunity for investors looking to lock in cheap prices and potentially big dividends.
- Tom Richardson
IGO flags impairment in second wave of nickel pain sweeping WA
There is no end in sight to the company’s nickel nightmare as it warns of a $275 million writedown on exploration assets.
- Brad Thompson
Liontown stops holding out on sending lithium to China
Liontown Resources will do deals with China after all, admitting it is impossible to ignore the world’s biggest buyer of lithium.
- Brad Thompson
Liontown lithium supply test of faith for Tesla after BHP nickel halt
Nickel and lithium have had a rocky ride over the past 18 months. But the outlook cannot be wider for the biggest local players in each commodity.
- Brad Thompson
