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Highlights
- Pilbara Minerals today provided update on outcomes of its most recent spodumene concentrate auction.
- Shares of Pilbara were 1.27% higher, trading at AU$2.39 apiece on ASX at 11.45 AM AEST.
As battery manufacturers scramble to secure supplies of the essential battery ingredients including Lithium, Pilbara Minerals Limited (ASX:PLS) continues to profit from the increasing demand for lithium.
Pilbara Minerals today (14 July 2022) provided information related to the outcomes of its most recent spodumene concentrate auction, which was conducted using its online Battery Material Exchange (BMX) platform.
The online marketplace offered a 5,000 DMT (dry metric tonnes) cargo with a target grade of 5.5% lithia for sale. The delivery of the goods is scheduled to begin in late August 2022.
Many qualified purchasers continue to show strong interest in participating and bidding, and notably, 41 bids were submitted online throughout the 30-minute auction window.
Pilbara Minerals expects to get the best proposal of US$6,188/DMT (SC5.5, FOB Port Hedland basis), which, when multiplied by the proportion of lithia content and including freight charges, comes to US$6,841/DMT (SC6.0, CIF China basis).
According to the conditions of the auction, the winning bidder must sign a sales contract within 48 hours, pay a 10% deposit, and provide an irrevocable letter of credit from a reputable bank by the end of July 2022.
Meanwhile, shares of Pilbara were 1.27% higher, trading at AU$2.39 apiece on ASX at 11.45 AM AEST. The ASX 200 Materials Index was 2.13% up at 14,882.10 points at 11.46 AM AEST.
Last month (on 29 June 2022), Pilbara shared an update on its Pilgangoora production shipping and cash.
According to Pilbara, the spodumene concentrate production is expected to increase significantly at the Pilgangoora Operation to between 123 and 127,000 DMT during the June quarter, which was 81,431dmt in the March quarter.
As a result, the yearly output for FY22 will be between 373 and 377,000 DMT, which is higher than the previous guidance range of between 340 and 380,000 DMT.
Image Source: © Dashark | Megapixl.com
Due to these production results, the company expects to ship 127–132,000 DMT in the June quarter (compared to 58,383 DMT in the March quarter), and annual sales for FY22 are anticipated to be between 355 and 360,000 DMT (FY21: 281,440dmt). A shipment of 20,000dmt that was postponed due to berth access issues at the end of the March quarter was one of the shipments for the June quarter. The ship subsequently departed Port Hedland on 7 April 2022.
Pilbara further informed that strong market pricing conditions were observed during the June quarter, and when combined with the increased shipment volumes realised, they will result in a significant increase of AU$565 million in the company's estimated 30 June 2022 cash position to AU$850- $855 million, including AU$269 million of irrevocable bank letters of credit.
