Perth, March 6, 2026, 15:31 (AWST).
- PLS was off 1.04% at A$4.76 in Friday’s session. 1
- China’s most-traded lithium carbonate contract dropped 12.99% on March 3, skirting close to the daily cap set by the exchange. 2
- PLS is targeting July 2026 to bring its Ngungaju plant—capacity around 200,000 tonnes a year—back online, following a first-half profit of A$33 million. 3
PLS Group shares slipped 1.04% to A$4.76 on Friday, as the market reconsidered the price rebound that had supported the miner’s plan to restart its Ngungaju facility in July. Earlier in the week, lithium carbonate futures in China took a tumble, prompting the move. 1
This comes after PLS gave the green light to restart the Ngungaju processing plant back on Feb. 19, citing stronger market fundamentals and firm customer demand. Production is penciled in for July 2026. The company kept its FY26 unit operating cost and capital expenditure guidance intact, but flagged that second-half costs are likely to hover near the upper end of its A$560-A$600 per tonne range as restart activities ramp up. 3
PLS delayed the Colina study, pushing feasibility results out to the December quarter of 2027, but left the timeline for its P2000 Pilgangoora expansion study largely intact. The P2000 outcomes remain scheduled for release in the December quarter of 2026. 3
PLS had the balance sheet to move. First-half revenue jumped 47% to A$624 million. Underlying EBITDA shot up 241% to A$253 million. Net profit after tax reached A$33 million, swinging from a A$69 million loss last year. The miner finished December holding A$954 million in cash and roughly A$1.6 billion in liquidity, but left the interim dividend untouched. 4
China remains the pressure point. On March 3, the most-active lithium carbonate contract on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange tumbled 12.99% to 150,860 yuan a metric ton, as softer February EV sales combined with Middle East tensions to dim demand prospects. PLS, which deals in spodumene concentrate—a lithium ore—tends to see sentiment shift fast when Chinese prices move. 2
Policymakers aren’t standing still. This week, Australia and Canada signed fresh critical minerals deals, and Australia is set to join Canada’s G7 production alliance—a signal that Western governments want supply chains less reliant on China. “There’s a lot Canada and Australia can do together on critical minerals as producer nations,” Australia’s Resources Minister Madeleine King told Reuters. Canada’s Energy and Mining Minister Tim Hodgson weighed in, saying a production alliance or buyers’ club beats a price floor. 5
PLS is sticking to its cost discipline, betting it can ride out the squeeze. “The first half reinforced the miner’s ‘low cost position’,” CEO Dale Henderson said. On the demand front, Jinyi Su, an analyst at Fubao in Wuxi, told Reuters back in January that energy storage might prove to be “a game changer for lithium”—suggesting bigger demand than just electric vehicles. 4
Competitors have chosen their own paths. Back in February, Albemarle announced plans to shut down the final operating processing unit at its Kemerton facility in Western Australia. Rio Tinto, during the same period, took a majority stake in Canada’s Nemaska Lithium as the miner expanded further into lithium. PLS? It’s moving the opposite way—restoring supply. 6
The risk is clear. Should lithium prices remain subdued or EV demand continue to lag, July’s planned restart may contribute less than hoped, and a full-year dividend could once again be pushed out of reach. With Colina on hold and restart costs for FY26 looking likely to hit the higher end of guidance, PLS has less cushion for another price hit than its cash position might indicate. 2
