Perth, May 2, 2026, 06:05 (AWST)
Mineral Resources Ltd locked in formal investment and shareholder deals with POSCO Holdings of South Korea, confirming the sale of a 30% stake in a new lithium joint venture and pushing the US$765 million arrangement toward regulatory review and completion. The joint entity, LithCo, is set to house MinRes’ current 50% holdings in the Wodgina and Mt Marion lithium projects in Western Australia.
Timing’s a factor here. Just the day before, MinRes bumped up its full-year volume outlook for major units and reported net debt dropping roughly A$400 million over the March quarter. Shares finished Friday at A$66.70—up 4.7%—ranking the stock among the ASX 300’s top performers that session.
Investors now have more visibility into MinRes’ path to cutting debt, even if there’s no final deal yet. As of March 31, the company’s liquidity stood at A$1.8 billion, up from A$1.4 billion three months earlier. Net debt declined to roughly A$4.5 billion from A$4.9 billion at the end of December.
Chris Ellison, Managing Director, described the POSCO deal as a “critical step,” emphasizing the partnership’s status as a “landmark investment” for Australian lithium. On the other side, POSCO Holdings President Ju-Tae Lee pointed to the agreement’s potential for aiding the “stabilisation of the global battery materials supply chain.”
POSCO’s deal, first laid out in November, has it spending US$765 million for a 30% slice of LithCo—translating to an indirect 15% holding in both Wodgina and Mt Marion. Mineral Resources hangs on to 70% of LithCo, keeps the operator’s seat at both mines, and continues working alongside Albemarle at Wodgina and Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium at Mt Marion. POSCO’s cut: spodumene concentrate, the key lithium feedstock for batteries, proportional to its ownership. Mineral Resources
The deal remains incomplete. MinRes has pushed its expected closing out to the first half of fiscal 2027—missing the initial first-half calendar 2026 goal it gave when binding terms were revealed. The company is still working through long-form agreements, offtake and marketing documents, and it’s waiting for Foreign Investment Review Board sign-off as well as merger approvals.
Onslow Iron, the Pilbara expansion project for MinRes, turned out 7.8 million tonnes and shipped 7.2 million tonnes in the quarter on a 100% basis, even after tropical cyclones Mitchell and Narelle caused interruptions. The company bumped up its fiscal 2026 volume target for Onslow to 17.7 million to 19.4 million wet metric tonnes. FOB costs — covering everything before freight and insurance — are coming in at the low end of what was guided. Chief Financial Officer Mark Wilson told analysts Onslow is “generating free cash” and “reducing debt.”
Lithium did the heavy lifting in the update. Attributable spodumene concentrate production from Wodgina and Mt Marion climbed to 127,000 dry metric tonnes of SC6, the 6% lithium oxide concentrate. Sales landed at 115,000 tonnes, with the average price jumping 92% from the previous quarter—US$2,105 per dry metric tonne, CIF (cost, insurance and freight) included.
The company wrapped up its US$1.3 billion senior unsecured notes sale on April 30, issuing paper maturing in 2032 and 2034—these aren’t tied to collateral. According to MinRes, the proceeds and available cash will go toward refinancing existing notes, paying off its iron ore prepayment, and redeeming a chunk of the pricier 2028 bond. Once those redemptions are done, the company sees no significant debt maturities until May 2030, and expects yearly finance costs to drop by roughly A$150 million.
Wilson told analysts the fresh notes should trim annual finance costs by roughly A$48 million, pushing the weighted average debt cost down to 7.4% from 8.4%. The plan for the POSCO proceeds: use them to redeem the last US$750 million in 2028 notes. That would reduce debt costs further to 6.9% and carve out an additional A$100 million in yearly interest savings, he said.
Shares across the lithium space caught a bid. Liontown Resources jumped 12.3%, Pilbara Minerals finished up 2.0%, and IGO booked a 3.4% gain Friday. Market Index reported RBC Capital Markets stuck with its Outperform rating on MinRes, bumping the target price to A$68 from A$65 after the company’s quarterly report. Market Index
Fuel costs are weighing, too. MinRes reported no diesel supply issues tied to the Middle East conflict, but diesel prices have shot up, doubling since March. That’s set to tack on roughly A$4 per wet metric tonne for Onslow in the June quarter, A$7 per wet metric tonne at the Pilbara Hub, and it’s a much steeper A$60 per dry metric tonne SC6 for Wodgina and Mt Marion sites. Even so, the company left its cost guidance steady, noting that mining services margins are insulated—fuel costs get passed through or are covered by clients.
Next up: shutter POSCO, maintain Onslow with expanded shipping, and prove pricier diesel won’t hit guidance. Wilson pointed out the sixth Onslow transhipper is due in just weeks—expected to boost fiscal 2027 output toward 38 million tonnes annually. Current infrastructure, he added, can handle both the sixth and seventh ships.
