The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price is sliding today.
Shares in the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) lithium stock closed yesterday trading for 10.5 cents. In morning trade on Wednesday, shares are changing hands for 10.2 cents apiece, down 2.9%.
For some context, the ASX All Ords is just about flat at this same time.
This follows the release of Core Lithium's quarterly update for the three months to 30 June.
Here's what investors are considering today.
Core Lithium share price under pressure
Investors are bidding down the Core Lithium share price with the miner still waiting for improved market conditions to restart its flagship Finniss Lithium Project, located in the Northern Territory.
A highlight of the quarter was the completion of the Finniss restart study work programs, and the release of that study to the market. Core Lithium said the restart study has repositioned Finniss as a "highly attractive, low-cost" underground mining operation with a 20-year life.
Indeed, the company noted that the first 10 years of operations at Finniss are backed by Ore Reserves of 10.73 million tonnes at 1.29% Li2O (lithium-oxide).
Potentially supporting the Core Lithium share price down the road, operating costs were also said to have been slashed by 33% to $40–$46 per tonne, while production potential increased by 7% through higher throughput. This now sees Finniss capable of producing a nameplate production of 205,000 tonnes of SC6 (spodumene) equivalent coarse-grained concentrate.
The June quarter also saw Core Lithium finalise its acquisition and ownership of the crushing plant. The miner said this completes its shift to full ownership of all site infrastructure and reduces estimated future crushing costs by half.
As at 30 June, the ASX lithium stock had $23.5 million in cash.
What did management say?
Commenting on the results that have yet to lift the Core Lithium share price today, CEO Paul Brown said, "We achieved our objective of demonstrating a pathway for Finniss to produce significantly higher margin volumes of spodumene concentrate by adopting a revised mine plan and processing strategy with reduced capital investment relative to the previous operating model."
Brown added:
Finniss has many positive attributes that have been leveraged through our restart plan – established infrastructure, high-grade ore bodies well suited to low-cost underground mining and a proven processing plant with opportunity for performance optimisation.
Pointing to the company's "enhanced" balance sheet, Brown noted:
Expenditure, excluding the one-off payment to Yahua, decreased by 67% from the March quarter. We are well positioned to advance the restart of Finniss, with a capital-efficient plan, a cleansed balance sheet and the right strategic funding process underway.
With today's drop factored in, the Core Lithium share price remains up 13% in 2025. Shares are down around 94% since the November 2022 highs.
