PERTH, May 14, 2026, 05:03 AWST
- Mineral Resources ended the session at A$70.62 on May 13, just shy of the A$71.79 high it hit within the past year.
- Mineral Resources lifted its FY26 volume outlook for mining services, Onslow Iron, Wodgina and Mt Marion, and reported net debt trimmed to roughly A$4.5 billion.
- Mark Taylor at Morningstar bumped his fair value estimate up to A$77. Still, he points out that investors are cautious, with the lithium slump and MinRes’ growing debt load hanging over sentiment.
Shares of Mineral Resources hit their highest level in a year on Wednesday, as the Western Australian miner drew fresh buying. Investors responded to the company’s uptick in production guidance, pared-down debt, and a stronger lithium market, fueling the stock’s sharp rerating.
Shares on the ASX finished the day at A$70.62, a 1.1% gain. The stock touched A$71.79 during the session, hitting its highest level in a year and putting the company’s market cap near A$14 billion.
This shift is catching attention because MinRes isn’t just lumped in with struggling lithium stocks anymore. The company’s Onslow Iron project is coming online, it’s just wrapped up refinancing, and lithium prices are bouncing back—all converging now. For investors, it’s a clearer setup following a stretch defined by aggressive capital outlays and a high debt-to-earnings ratio.
In its March-quarter update, the company bumped up FY26 volume targets across Mining Services, Onslow Iron, Wodgina, and Mt Marion. Cash on hand climbed, with liquidity reaching A$1.8 billion, up from A$1.4 billion. Net debt dropped—now sitting around A$4.5 billion, compared to A$4.9 billion previously.
Onslow Iron turned out 7.8 million tonnes and managed to ship 7.2 million tonnes for the quarter on a 100% basis, despite haulage coming to a halt for several days when cyclones Mitchell and Narelle swept through. The company reported no damage to critical infrastructure, such as its private haul road, and said full-year costs are coming in at the lower end of its guidance.
Lithium made the real impact. MinRes posted 127,000 dry metric tonnes of attributable spodumene concentrate output from Wodgina and Mt Marion, moving 115,000 dry tonnes in sales. SC6—shorthand for spodumene concentrate at roughly 6% lithium oxide—is the go-to hard-rock lithium grade for chemical processors.
The broader market offered a lift. In China, lithium carbonate fetched 200,500 yuan per tonne on May 13—up 24.15% for the month, and more than double where it sat a year ago. Iron ore also gained ground in the same period, according to Trading Economics.
MinRes managed to limit its quarterly revenue drop to just 3%, thanks to stronger prices counterbalancing cyclone-disrupted output, according to Morningstar senior equity analyst Mark Taylor. Taylor bumped his earnings-per-share projection for fiscal 2026 up by 24% and now pegs fair value at A$77. Still, he notes, investors remain “gun-shy” after the lithium rout and with debt still running high. Morningstar
Company CFO Mark Wilson told analysts the top priority is still “balance sheet strength first,” with targeted high-return brownfields projects—basically, expanding what’s already in place—coming next. He flagged that a US$1.3 billion notes issue should trim finance costs by about A$48 million each year, drop the weighted average debt cost to 7.4% from 8.4%, and stretch average debt maturity out to five years from the current 3.1. Sanity CDN
The notes count as senior unsecured bonds—essentially, debt with no asset collateral. Mineral Resources (MinRes) priced US$650 million of 6.00% bonds maturing May 2032, and another US$650 million at 6.25% set for May 2034. The company plans to use the proceeds to pay down previous, pricier borrowings.
The POSCO Holdings deal is another factor at play. On May 1, MinRes announced it had inked major formal agreements with the South Korean conglomerate: POSCO will take a 30% stake in MinRes’ operating lithium business via a new joint venture. That JV will include MinRes’ current 50% holdings in both Wodgina and Mt Marion. The agreement isn’t done yet—additional paperwork and regulatory sign-offs are still needed, with Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board among the hurdles. MinRes is now targeting completion sometime in the first half of fiscal 2027.
The leadership lineup is shifting, too. Mineral Resources named Darren Killeen as chief operating officer on May 7, a newly established post that reports straight to Managing Director Chris Ellison as the board works through its succession planning. Ellison described Killeen as having “deep knowledge of our assets, people and culture.” Mineral Resources
MinRes finds itself wedged between heavyweight iron ore producers BHP and Fortescue, and lithium-focused companies like Pilbara Minerals. On May 13, Google Finance data put BHP ahead by 2.9% and Fortescue just behind at 2.8%, with Pilbara Minerals down 0.9%. That contrast underscores the distinctive risk blend MinRes carries, thanks to its exposure across iron ore, lithium, and mining services—a different setup compared to its more narrowly focused rivals.
Still, the trade comes with baggage. MinRes flagged that diesel costs have shot up—doubling since March—which means more expense hitting the June quarter, despite holding FY26 cost guidance steady. If lithium or iron ore prices turn the wrong way, or Onslow’s ramp-up stalls, or there’s a holdup with the POSCO agreement, the pace of debt reduction that’s been boosting the stock could falter.
The next real test lands with the June-quarter report, set for July 29. By that point, investors should know if Onslow is actually maintaining capacity, if lithium prices are holding up, and if those balance sheet gains are showing up as cash—not just on paper.
