Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
Shares of Piedmont Lithium (NASDAQ: PLL; ASX: PLL) saw double-digit gains on Tuesday following the release of the company’s third quarter results, headlined by a new production record set by its North American Lithium (NAL) operation in Quebec.
The company owns 25% of NAL, North America’s largest operating spodumene mine, in a joint venture with Sayona Mining (ASX: SYA).
During the quarter, NAL produced around 52,100 dry metric tonnes of spodumene concentrate, up 5% from its previous record of 49,660 dry metric tonnes from the previous quarter.
The continued increase in quarterly production, said CEO Keith Phillips, is due to recent investments at NAL, particularly the recently completed crushed ore dome, the availability of which also drove an improvement in unit operating costs.
In addition to the progress in operations, Phillips noted that Sayona posted a significant increase in resources last quarter, indicating the “potential for a brownfield expansion of annual production at some future point.”
About 49,000 dry metric tonnes of the NAL output were shipped out, of which 31,500 tonnes went Piedmont, with the rest going to Sayona. From the NAL shipments, which also were a quarterly record, Piedmont booked $27.7 million in revenues.
While the third quarter revenues represent more than double that of the second quarter, Piedmont’s net loss still went up by about $3 million for the three-month period due to falling lithium prices. Realized lithium price for the quarter was $878/dmt, down 7% from Q2 and 46% from the same period last year.
Citing market difficulties, Piedmont has been implementing a cost savings plan this year, which so far has resulted in a 48% reduction in its total workforce between February and October. From this, the lithium miner expects to recognize $14 million in annual cost savings in 2024, higher than the $10 million it had expected to save at the beginning of the year.
Regarding its other operations, Piedmont said on Tuesday it expects to obtain the air and water permits for its Carolina lithium project in the US, as well as parliamentary ratification of the mining lease for its Ewoyaa project in Ghana, in the first half of 2025.
Piedmont’s Nasdaq-listed shares gained 6.4% by 12:30 p.m. ET Tuesday following its Q3 2024 release, having risen as much as 13.6% earlier in the session. This lifted the company’s market capitalization to approximately $251 million.
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