The Greenbushes lithium mine in Western Australia has continued its winning streak, exceeding planned production for the December quarter.
IGO and Tianqi Lithium share a 51 per cent stake in Greenbushes, with the balance owned by Albermarle. The operation is known as the world’s largest hard-rock lithium mine.
During the December quarter, Greenbushes produced 392,000 tonnes (t) of spodumene concentrate and sold 312,000t.
While the mine’s production is three per cent less compared to the previous quarter, IGO said the feed grade and recovery remained strong for CGP1 (chemical grade plant 1) and CGP2, resulting in Greenbushes exceeding production plans for the 2024 calendar year.
“It is encouraging to see Greenbushes deliver another strong and stable quarter of performance,” IGO managing director and chief executive officer Ivan Vella said.
“Greenbushes continues to demonstrate its ability to generate sustainable, high margin production during a period where further growth and optimisation activities are underway.
Thus far, Greenbushes has produced 798,000t of spodumene concentrate in the 2024–25 financial year (FY25).
“This puts Greenbushes in an enviable position to continue to deliver strong financial returns to shareholders,” Vella said.
However, the December quarter wasn’t without its challenges for IGO. It continued to face operational challenges amid the global nickel and lithium downturn, resulting in the miner transitioning its Forrestania nickel operation in WA into care and maintenance.
IGO also announced a revised timeline for Greenbushes’ CGP3 in October 2024, with the first ore now expected in the second quarter of FY26.
More recently, the company revealed last week that it, along with Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia, would cease all works and activities on the lithium hydroxide plant 2 at the Kwinana lithium hydroxide refinery in WA so the impairment testing process could be completed.
Vella said the decision “reflects the challenges of developing downstream lithium processing capacity”.
“IGO is continuing to work with our partner, Tianqi Lithium Corporation, on a pathway at Kwinana that is acceptable to both parties,” he said.
The Nova nickel operation in WA saw an eight per cent decrease in production during the quarter, delivering 3393t. The decline was the result of lower plant availability and reduced ore feed grades.
“As previously signalled, mining in the last few years of Nova is presenting increased challenges, however the team are working hard to deliver a reliable and stable production profile from this asset over its remaining life [ending in 2026],” Vella said.
“While market conditions remain challenging, IGO is in a robust position to deliver on its strategy with $247 million cash on hand.”
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