Mineral Resources to axe 300 jobs as it closes Bald Hill lithium mine in Western Australia
In a worrying sign for Australia’s lithium industry, another mine will close, taking 300 jobs with it.
Embattled miner Mineral Resources has pulled back from lithium production, with 300 jobs to be axed at a mine in Western Australia.
The Bald Hill lithium mine, about 50km southeast of Kambalda, in WA’s Goldfields region, will be placed on care and maintenance until market conditions improve, the company announced on Wednesday.
Mining will stop immediately. The spodumene concentrate plant and accommodation will close in early December.
Billionaire founder and managing director of the company Chris Ellison said the decision was a “prudent” one, but not “made lightly”.
He added it was in line with efforts to reduce costs across the business.
About 300 Mineral Resources employees are set to lose their jobs.
Bald Hill employees will be first in line for redeployments across other arms of the business. If redeployment is not possible, redundancies will be offered.
Shares in the company dropped 6.7 per cent or $2.54 to $35.11 in the morning trade update.
Liontown Resources cut production at its flagship Kathleen Valley lithium mine in WA on Monday, citing the need to adapt in a low-price environment.
“We will revisit what we need to do should the market conditions improve,” CEO Tony Ottaviano said.
Australia is the world’s largest producer of lithium – used in batteries to power phones, laptops and electric vehicles (EVs).
Since 2023, producers have seen a three-quarter drop in price.
The crash has been widely blamed on overproduction, and slower-than-expected demand because of sluggish growth in the EV market.
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