Core Lithium share price marches higher as key quarterly milestones achieved

The miner remains on schedule for production of its first spodumene concentrate in the first half of 2023.

Bernd Struben

Author bio Bernd Struben earned his BA in economics from the University of Michigan in 1991, with post-graduate studies in environmental economics at the University of Connecticut. Over the years he’s written about and analysed the tourism industry in the Caribbean; Europe’s commercial real estate markets; and, since moving to Australia in 2010, global and Aussie share markets. Bernd studies geopolitical and macroeconomic trends, alongside sector and company specific data, to gauge what he believes could be tomorrow's best investments. In his free time, you might find Bernd at the beach with his family or working on his next science fiction novel. Areas of expertise Australian and global share markets Macroeconomic and geopolitical trends Real estate Education Economics, University of Michigan Favorite investment quote "The four most dangerous words in investing are: 'This time it's different." — Sir John Templeton

Published January 30, 2023 11:48 am AEDT

The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price is marching higher on Monday, up 2.65% in morning trade.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) lithium stock closed on Friday trading for $1.13 per share and is currently trading for $1.16.

This comes following the release of the company's quarterly results for the three months ending 31 December.

Read on for the highlights.

Happy woman miner with her thumb up signalling Wyloo's commitment to back IGO's takeover of Western Areas nickel — Image source: Getty Images

Finniss on track for production

During the quarter, Core Lithium delivered its first shipment of 15,000 dry metric tonnes (dmt) of direct shipping ore (DSO) to a customer in Fangchen, China. The average grade was 1.4% Li2O and the ore sold for US$951/dmt.

Construction work at the miner's Finniss project in the Northern Territory continued on track, including successfully commissioning the crushing and screening plant.

Primero was awarded a five-year operations and maintenance contract for the Dense Media Separation (DMS) plant during the quarter. And the Core Lithium share price could be getting some tailwinds today as the company reiterated that its DMS plant remained on schedule for production of first spodumene concentrate in the first half of 2023.

The three-month reporting period also saw Core Lithium successfully complete a $100 million equity raising.

As at 31 December, the miner held $125 million in cash. That figure doesn't include proceeds from the sale of DSO, which it received in the current quarter.

What did management say?

Commenting on the results helping push the Core Lithium share price higher today, CEO Gareth Manderson said:

Core Lithium has continued to reach key milestones this quarter including the mining of ore, commissioning the crushing plant, sale of pre-production direct shipping ore (DSO) and the successful completion of the $100 million placement.

The Finniss operations team are managing the weather impacts experienced from Tropical Cyclone Ellie that brought above average rainfall during December. We continue to refine our approach to manage the impacts of wet season events and remain on track for commissioning of the concentrator with our key contracting partners.

Core Lithium share price snapshot

The Core Lithium share price is off to a strong start in 2023, up more than 14%. Over the past 12 months, the ASX 200 lithium stock has gained an impressive 52%.

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