The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price is surging higher today.
Shares in the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) lithium stock closed yesterday trading for 11 cents. In morning trade on Wednesday, shares are swapping hands for 12.5 cents apiece, up 13.6% at the time of writing.
This comes following the release of the lithium miner's quarterly update covering the three months to 30 June.
Read on for the highlights.
Record quarterly shipments boost Core Lithium share price
Investors are bidding up the Core Lithium share price after the miner reported it had achieved record quarterly shipments of 33,027 dry metric tonnes (dmt) of spodumene concentrate.
The Spodumene concentrate, at 4.8% grade was sold at an average price of US$1,078/dmt. That's 16.5% higher than the prior quarter, which management said reflected "the marginal increase" in spodumene concentrate price over the three-month period.
As expected, spodumene concentrate production declined by 18% to 20,563dmt as the Core's Run-of-Mine (ROM) stockpiles are now fully depleted, with all processing activities completed as planned.
The company's operational sites are now being maintained in a state of readiness until such time as market conditions (lithium prices) improve.
The miner reiterated its revised FY 2024 guidance for production of 95,020dmt and operating costs of $1,396/dmt.
The quarter just past also saw Paul Brown take over as CEO, commencing on 4 June.
As at 30 June, Core Lithium had $87.6 million in cash.
What did management say?
Commenting on the results lifting the Core Lithium share price today, Brown said:
We are pleased that we have managed a difficult FY24 with several positive achievements to carry forward into FY25. The June quarter saw record quarterly spodumene concentrate shipments and our lowest quarterly operating costs.
Brown added:
With the suspension of operations and the site moving to care and maintenance, the Company has significantly reduced its cost base across the business…
Looking ahead, we intend to put Finniss in a position where it can restart as a longer life lower cost operation and restore shareholder value through sensible exploration and potential corporate opportunities.
The miner also said that discussions with interested parties are continuing regarding the potential sale of 5,178 wmt of spodumene concentrate in FY25.
Core said its FY 2025 exploration will be focussed on advancing and testing targets with the potential to host lithium deposits "of meaningful scale" within trucking distance of its Finniss lithium processing plant.
The company's FY 2025 exploration program also includes advancing gold, uranium, niobium, and REE prospects within its Central Australian tenement holdings outside the Finniss region.
Core Lithium share price snapshot
With today's intraday gains factored in, the Core Lithium share price remains down 87% over 12 months.
