SYDNEY, May 20, 2026, 06:09 AEST
- Mineral Resources finished Tuesday at A$65.74, gaining 2.56%. The S&P/ASX 200 added 1.17% to end at 8,604.7.
- The miner aims to bring Bald Hill back online, looking for first concentrate in July. Restart costs are seen at around A$20 million.
- The ASX cash market finished up at the dateline before Wednesday’s session. Regular hours are 09:59:45 to 16:00 Sydney time.
Mineral Resources Ltd shares jumped past the overall Australian market on news the company will restart the Bald Hill lithium mine in Western Australia, moving to bring the shuttered mine online as battery-material prices turn higher. Shares closed at A$65.74 Tuesday, up 2.56%. The stock had dropped to A$63.44 earlier in the session.
Bald Hill went into care and maintenance in November 2024. That means the site was kept idle but maintained, with the idea it could restart if needed. Lithium prices were low at the time, so running the mine didn’t make sense. Mineral Resources said the new decision came after what it called a “significant and sustained” bounce in prices. WeLink
Investors are watching the restart as a gauge of whether MinRes can boost lithium output and still keep its balance sheet in check. The company says Bald Hill can turn out roughly 165,000 dry metric tonnes per year of 5.1% spodumene concentrate, a lithium product sold to refiners. That’s about the same as 140,000 tonnes of the standard SC6 grade.
MinRes Managing Director Chris Ellison said “the time is right” to restart Bald Hill, pointing to demand for spodumene concentrate and the company’s own mining services unit. Ellison said when Bald Hill comes back online, MinRes will be the only operator in the world running three hard-rock lithium mines, each with a separate concentrate plant. WeLink
Site work should pick up in late May. Crushing and mining are set for June. The company aims for its first shipment through the Port of Esperance in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, with full capacity planned for the second quarter.
Mineral Resources expects to bring back around 370 jobs with the restart, with about 110 workers moving from other parts of MinRes. Those workers’ old positions should be filled elsewhere in the company.
The move caught attention as resources traded mixed. The S&P/ASX 200 gained after falling sharply on Monday, with most Australian shares rebounding. Still, materials lagged, down 0.07%. Lithium stocks were hit: Pilbara Minerals lost 1.33% and Liontown fell 3.88%, according to Google Finance.
MinRes flagged the price rally in its April update. Chief Financial Officer Mark Wilson told analysts that the lithium unit’s average realised price for Mt Marion and Wodgina hit US$2,105 a tonne on an SC6-equivalent basis in the March quarter, a 92% jump from the previous quarter. April sales came in above US$2,500 a tonne.
The restart comes as MinRes is working to trim its balance sheet. Back in November, Reuters said MinRes agreed to sell a 30% stake in part of its lithium business to POSCO of South Korea for US$765 million to cut debt. RBC Capital Markets analyst Kaan Peker said then the deal “validates the quality” of MinRes’ lithium assets. Reuters
But investors still don’t have the key numbers. MinRes said it will give fiscal 2027 guidance for Bald Hill sales, costs and capex with its full-year results in August. Restart spending happens before shipments, and the company has flagged higher diesel could add around A$60 per tonne to lithium-site costs on an SC6 basis. Another lithium price drop, slower ramp, or labour squeeze could hit returns fast.
Next up are the practical steps: mobilisation by late May, then mining and crushing in June, with first concentrate expected in July. The stock has the restart angle. The market’s watching for the tonnes.
