Even some of the most profitable companies in the industry rounded out the year with relatively mediocre returns compared to the year prior. For example, Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) posted a reasonable 17% gain last year. However, this pales in comparison to the remarkable 133% climb in 2021.

Meanwhile, many lithium players still in the pre-production stages were dealt hammering blows to their share prices. Investors decisively turned away from money-hungry investments throughout the year as capital became more expensive due to rising rates.

Here are the ASX lithium shares that were hit the hardest during a challenging year.

Harrowing hardship for these ASX lithium shares

Galan Lithium Ltd (ASX: GLN)

The Argentina and Australia lithium project developer had a busy year drilling and testing across its sites during 2022. Most notably, Galan Lithium finished the year by acquiring the remaining 20% of the Greenbushes South Lithium Project in December to give it full ownership of the development.

However, the capital-intensive process of exploration while pre-revenue meant Galan widened its losses. In FY22, the company reached $5.08 million in net losses, deepening from $0.9 million.

It appears investors were less enthused about holding out for the possibility of future revenue amid the economic backdrop. In turn, this ASX lithium share suffered a substantial 45% fall in its share price in 2022. At present, Galan Lithium is fetching $1.04 per share with a market capitalisation of $320 million.

Ioneer Ltd (ASX: INR)

The second worst-performing ASX lithium share might be surprising given its achievements last year. Ioneer made major strides toward shoring up customers for its future anticipated lithium supply with offtake agreements with EcoPro Group, Ford, and Prime Planet Energy & Solutions Inc.

Although, with production not yet underway, Ioneer likewise dialled up the losses. At the end of FY22, the bottom line had blown out to $12.6 million in the red — worsening from the $10.3 million worth of bleeding in the prior fiscal year.

As such, the market responded with a 52.5% slashing of the Ioneer share price in 2022. Today, this ASX lithium share goes for 40 cents apiece, giving it a market cap of $808 million.

Lepidico Ltd (ASX: LPD)

Turning to the ASX lithium company that fared the worst in 2022. Lepidico was unable to catch a break last year as the small-cap persevered with exploration in Namibia and the United Arab Emirates.

Positively, Lepidico made headway on phase 1 of its projects, receiving cost estimates for further development. The company estimated the costs of an integrated mine, concentrator, and chemical plant to be US$266 million. Though, Lepidico still lacks revenue and only held $8 million in cash at the end of June 2022.

Over the course of 2022, this ASX lithium share tumbled 58%. At the time of writing, Lepidico shares are swapping hands at 1.5 cents each with a market cap of around $107 million.

The post These were the worst-performing ASX lithium shares of 2022 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Out of the 28 lithium shares we compared to create this list, only six of them reported positive movements in their share prices, with the rest either recording a loss or a neutral price movement.

As could be expected, some companies reported greater losses than others.

So let's cover September's biggest losers in the lithium space.

Nova Minerals Ltd (ASX: NVA)

The biggest loser for the month of September was Nova Minerals, which recorded a 31.38% decline in its share. While primarily a gold explorer, Nova Minerals also has a 37% stake in Snow Lake Resources Ltd (NASDAQ: LITM), a company that's exploring lithium at the Thompson Brothers Lithium Project in Manitoba, Canada.

Shares opened for 94 cents on 1 September and closed for 65 cents at the end of the month.

This may surprise those who follow the company, as Nova Minerals reported largely positive results in its annual report for FY22 on 20 September. One highlight for the financial year is that its total comprehensive income grew to $38.09 million, which is up from a $4.3 million loss in the previous corresponding period.

The company also posted a positive update for its lithium business to the market on 16 September. A resource upgrade was issued for Snow Lake Resources amid drilling of 20,000 additional metres. This drilling effort reportedly "accelerates Snow Lake's path towards commercial production".

Snow Lake is pursuing plans to make its lithium extraction site the world's first renewable energy-powered electric mine.

Lepidico Ltd (ASX: LPD)

Shares of Lepidico also had an atrocious month in September as they lost 26.66% of their value. The Lepidico share price opened at 0.03 cents on 1 September. It closed at 0.022 cents at the end of the month.

The miner's shares were sold off following the company reporting a total comprehensive loss of $7.78 million for FY22 on 23 September.

Other updates for the company included drill results from its Helikon 4 pegmatite at its Karibib project in Namibia. Assay results from the drilling effort uncovered high yields of lithium oxide.

The release also stated that front-end engineering and design (FEED) for its Phase 1 chemical plant is due to complete in November 2022.

Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE)

Finally, the Lake Resources share price dropped 21.49% in September. Shares opened for $1.14 on 1 September and closed at 90 cents each at month close.

A large part of the sell-off unfolded over the course of a week. The company lost 17% during this time.

The miner has been contending with interest from short sellers. Its short interest ratio shot up to 9.9% on 26 September.

As the Fool reported earlier, J Capital believes that its lithium extraction technology is unproven and could generate toxic waste as part of the production process. Lake Resources denies these claims. Though this commentary by J Capital has seemingly done nothing to improve the sentiment around Lake Resources' shares.

On a greater level, ASX lithium shares could be feeling the pinch of rising interest rates, which has led to more volatility than usual in the market over the past couple of weeks.

The post Here were the 3 worst performing ASX lithium shares in September appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.