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Released November 13, 2024 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Piedmont Lithium (NASDAQ:PLL) (Bessemer City, North Carolina) said its shipments of spodumene concentrate, a mineral source of lithium, set a record during the third quarter, but it acknowledged market prices could present lingering challenges.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project and Plant databases can click here for full list of detailed reports for active and proposed projects from Piedmont Lithium, and click here for a full list of detailed plant profiles.
Piedmont started producing spodumene, a lithium-rich mineral, at the North American Lithium (NAL) facility in Quebec in March 2023, supported by some $65 million in investments. Subscribers can learn more from a detailed plant profile.
Canada claims about 2.5% of the world's known deposits of lithium, a critical material in the energy transition. Most of its deposits are in Quebec, though lithium compounds can be pulled out of the oil and gas fields in Alberta. Pioneering methods could extract it from the brine associated with oil and gas production as well.
Piedmont already had hinted at a surge in activity with preliminary data from the third quarter that was published in October. On Tuesday, the company verified that it delivered about 31,500 dry metric tons of spodumene concentrate during the three months ending September 30, more than double the levels from the previous quarter.
"The third quarter was a successful one for Piedmont, with a quarterly record of spodumene concentrate shipped via well-placed spot shipments that took advantage of the futures market," said Keith Phillips, the company's chief executive officer.
Piedmont Lithium reported a realized price for spodumene of $878 per dry metric ton, which it said beat out its peers. That said, the price was 7% lower than second-quarter levels and about 45% lower than levels during the third quarter of last year.
Lithium carbonate and spodumene prices have been volatile as of late, given a stimulus infusion in the Chinese economy, though a spat of global holidays created something of a lull in recent trading. Markets are nevertheless suppressed.
The price collapse is emblematic of a lopsided market. Supplies remain ample as large industrial consumers, such as automakers, revise their clean-energy strategies. Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) (Toyota City, Japan), for example, said it would cut production of electric vehicles by 30% next year as consumers favor hybrids over fully electric models.
Piedmont, meanwhile, posted a net loss during the third quarter of $16.7 million, compared with a $22.9 million profit during the same period last year.
"While lithium markets remain challenging, we have been successful in strengthening our financial position through reductions in operating costs, minimized spending on discretionary capital items, and the arrangement of low-cost working capital financing through a trading company partner," the head of the company said.
Piedmont this year revised plans for a lithium project in Tennessee and cut its spending from about $57 million in 2023 to between $10 million and $14 million this year, largely in response to a market downturn triggered by sluggish demand and overproduction.
In its quarterly report, however, the company said it would continue seeking the permits necessary to start production of lithium hydroxide at a facility in North Carolina. Lithium hydroxide relies on spodumene concentrate as a feedstock. Subscribers can learn more from a detailed project report and plant profile.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project and Plant databases can click here for full list of detailed reports for active and proposed projects from Piedmont Lithium, and click here for a full list of detailed plant profiles.
Piedmont started producing spodumene, a lithium-rich mineral, at the North American Lithium (NAL) facility in Quebec in March 2023, supported by some $65 million in investments. Subscribers can learn more from a detailed plant profile.
Canada claims about 2.5% of the world's known deposits of lithium, a critical material in the energy transition. Most of its deposits are in Quebec, though lithium compounds can be pulled out of the oil and gas fields in Alberta. Pioneering methods could extract it from the brine associated with oil and gas production as well.
Piedmont already had hinted at a surge in activity with preliminary data from the third quarter that was published in October. On Tuesday, the company verified that it delivered about 31,500 dry metric tons of spodumene concentrate during the three months ending September 30, more than double the levels from the previous quarter.
"The third quarter was a successful one for Piedmont, with a quarterly record of spodumene concentrate shipped via well-placed spot shipments that took advantage of the futures market," said Keith Phillips, the company's chief executive officer.
Piedmont Lithium reported a realized price for spodumene of $878 per dry metric ton, which it said beat out its peers. That said, the price was 7% lower than second-quarter levels and about 45% lower than levels during the third quarter of last year.
Lithium carbonate and spodumene prices have been volatile as of late, given a stimulus infusion in the Chinese economy, though a spat of global holidays created something of a lull in recent trading. Markets are nevertheless suppressed.
The price collapse is emblematic of a lopsided market. Supplies remain ample as large industrial consumers, such as automakers, revise their clean-energy strategies. Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) (Toyota City, Japan), for example, said it would cut production of electric vehicles by 30% next year as consumers favor hybrids over fully electric models.
Piedmont, meanwhile, posted a net loss during the third quarter of $16.7 million, compared with a $22.9 million profit during the same period last year.
"While lithium markets remain challenging, we have been successful in strengthening our financial position through reductions in operating costs, minimized spending on discretionary capital items, and the arrangement of low-cost working capital financing through a trading company partner," the head of the company said.
Piedmont this year revised plans for a lithium project in Tennessee and cut its spending from about $57 million in 2023 to between $10 million and $14 million this year, largely in response to a market downturn triggered by sluggish demand and overproduction.
In its quarterly report, however, the company said it would continue seeking the permits necessary to start production of lithium hydroxide at a facility in North Carolina. Lithium hydroxide relies on spodumene concentrate as a feedstock. Subscribers can learn more from a detailed project report and plant profile.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
