The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price is bouncing around today.
Shares in the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) lithium stock closed yesterday at 10.00 cents. In early trade on Thursday, shares were swapping hands for 10.25 cents apiece, up 2.5% before retreating flat to 10.00 cents.
For some context, the All Ords is down 0.39% at this same time.
This performance follows the release of Core's quarterly results for the three months to 31 December. And its sees shares up 11% so far in 2025.
Here are the highlights.
Core Lithium share price gains on update
The Core Lithium share price declined by 30.8% during the quarter, ending September at 13 cents a share and closing out December at 9 cents a share.
This fall came amid ongoing weakness in global lithium markets and as Core kept its flagship Finniss lithium project on ice awaiting an upturn in prices for the battery-critical mineral.
On that front, the ASX 200 miner reported that the restart study for Finniss progressed as planned and is on track for completion in the June quarter.
Among the quarter's positives, Core Lithium achieved some high-end drilling results at its Blackbeard lithium prospect, just 20km from the Finniss process plant. Top results included 63 metres at 1.67% Li2O.
And showcasing its diverse asset base outside of the lithium space, the December quarter saw Core Lithium report on promising gold drill results at its Shoobridge project in the Northern Territory. Top results included 6 metres at 5.12 grams of gold per tonne. The miner has since completed follow-up drilling. Those results will be available in the March quarter.
On the balance sheet, Core held $50 million of cash on 31 December, down from $61 million on 30 September.
The miner also has a stockpile of 5,000 wet metric tonnes (wmt) of spodumene concentrate and 75,000 wmt of lithium fines, which it says remain "available for sale should market conditions improve".
What did management say?
Commenting on the results that look to be boosting the Core Lithium share price today, CEO Paul Brown said, "The December quarter saw continued progress across three key areas of our business, including the restart study workstreams, maintaining operational readiness, and advancing our exploration program."
Brown added:
Optimising our future mining and processing activities remains a key focus of the Restart Study. I've been encouraged by what the team has been able to identify and capture in the study work to date.
We aim to make Finniss a more efficient, lower cost and resilient operation. We will seek to align our strategy with the prevailing market dynamics when the restart study is concluded in the June quarter.
On the exploration front, which has helped support the Core Lithium share price in recent months, Brown noted the "outstanding drill results" from lithium at Blackbeard and gold at Mt Shoobridge.
"Programs during the quarter sought to test early-stage targets, and we will patiently and methodically test the scale of mineralisation discovered at these projects over the year," he said.
