IGO will post a loss from its West Australian lithium processing facility as the miner struggles to find customers in a dismal market for the mineral.

Low prices and lack of demand have left lithium hydroxide to pile up at IGO’s Kwinana plant on the outskirts of Perth, forcing the facility into the red and threatening its viability. The majority of Australian lithium miners have ceased production or mothballed operations as prices have drifted below $US800 ($1289) per tonne, down from a peak of $US8000 a tonne two years ago.