Arcadium Lithium (ASX:LTM) is reassessing all its projects, including a final, in-depth look at its Mount Cattlin lithium operations in southern Western Australia.
The company is subjecting its planned and actual operations in Canada and Argentina to rigorous scrutiny. With no hesitation, it has been open about the difficult decisions ahead for the mine in this review.
It’s not the reasonable June quarter profit but the willingness to conduct a thorough examination of its operations that drove shares up more than 7% on the ASX on Wednesday.
The result, although accompanied by downbeat commentary, appears to have boosted other lithium miners, with Pilbara Minerals and IGO shares rising by more than 6% and 4% respectively.
Arcadium reported a 5% drop in quarterly profit to US$87 million, meeting market expectations and sending its shares higher as cost reductions, planned and implemented, along with favorable supply contract terms, offset the sharp decline in spodumene prices to around US$940 a tonne.
With costs at Mt. Cattlin reaching US$700 a tonne, prices under pressure, and significant spending required to prepare for the next phase of mining, the company is reviewing its strategy, CEO Paul Graves said.
“We are intensively questioning internally whether care and maintenance is the right strategy for Mount Cattlin right now,” Graves told analysts after the results.
“I don’t know if we will act based on just one or two price points from China for spodumene concentrate, but if it becomes clear that we are in a period of three-digit, rather than four-digit, spodumene prices, then the care and maintenance question becomes much more critical.”
Graves put Mount Cattlin on notice earlier this year, stating that the current open-pit operation has a limited life unless it transitions to underground mining. However, the high cost of underground mining and weak global prices may lead to the mine being placed on care and maintenance later in 2024.
In a statement to exchanges on Tuesday, he said the company maintains a positive long-term outlook for the metal but acknowledged that “the market is clearly indicating that the industry does not need to add supply at the same pace as previously expected.”
The lithium company plans to pause investment in its Galaxy project in Canada and seek a partner for development.
Arcadium has also revised the timeline for its two lithium carbonate projects at Argentina’s Salar del Hombre Muerto, opting to complete them sequentially instead of simultaneously.
These changes will reduce Arcadium’s capital spending by an estimated US$500 million over the next two years, according to the earnings release.
The company stated it has no plans to delay development of its Nemaska Lithium project in Canada.