Piedmont Lithium ("Piedmont" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:PLL, ASX: PLL))), a leading North American supplier of lithium products critical to the U.S. electric vehicle supply chain, announced that it shipped approximately 31,500 dry metric tons ("dmt") of spodumene concentrate in Q3'24 as its jointly owned North American Lithium ("NAL") achieved new quarterly production and operational performance records.1 NAL, North America's largest producing spodumene mine, is jointly owned by Piedmont (25%) and Sayona Mining Limited (75%) (ASX: SYA).
Figure 1: NAL Concentrate Production (Graphic: Business Wire)
In response to a customer request, the Company will shift a planned cargo from Q4'24 to early Q1'25. As a result, Piedmont is targeting shipments of approximately 55,000 dmt of spodumene concentrate in Q4 for total 2024 shipments of approximately 116,000 dmt. While this single cargo push into early 2025 will cause a nominal adjustment from our prior guidance of 126,000 dmt for 2024, we expect this shift to be accretive to our 2025 shipments totals and does not impact Piedmont's total offtake quantities at NAL.2
Q3'24 Operational Results Summary
| Piedmont Lithium | Units | Q3'24 | Q2'24 | QoQ Variance | 2024 YTD | 2023 YTD | YoY Variance |
| Concentrate Shipped | kt dmt | 31.5 | 15.5 | 125% | 60.9 | 29.0 | 110% |
| Average Grade | % Li2O | ~5.4% | ~5.5% | (0.1%) | ~5.5% | ~5.4% | 0.1% |
| NAL1 | Units | Q3'24 | Q2'24 | QoQ Variance | 2024 YTD | 2023 YTD | YoY Variance |
| Ore Mined | kt wmt | 240.3 | 233.7 | 3% | 825.1 | 562.8 | 47% |
| Concentrate Produced | kt dmt | 52.1 | 49.7 | 5% | 142.2 | 64.6 | 120% |
| Plant (Mill) Utilization | % | 91% | 83% | 8% | 82% | 65% | 13% |
| Lithium Recovery | % | 67% | 68% | (1%) | 67% | 57% | 10% |
| Concentrate Shipped | kt dmt | 49.0 | 27.7 | 77% | 134.8 | 48.2 | 180% |
In Q3'24, NAL produced 52,141 dmt and shipped 48,992 dmt, of which approximately 31,500 dmt of spodumene concentrate were sold to Piedmont and shipped to Company customers.
NAL increased quarterly production by 5% in Q3'24 compared to the prior quarter. Mill utilization achieved a record high of 91% for the quarter benefitting from the availability of the recently completed crushed ore dome. The increased utilization rate also drove an improvement in unit operating costs, which declined by 15% quarter-over-quarter when excluding the impact of inventory movements. Recoveries dipped marginally in the quarter due to a slight reduction in feed grade and increased use of the WHIMS magnetic separators. Importantly, in September 2024, NAL reported its first incident-free safety month since the restart of operations in 2023 with no lost time injuries, no modified duty injuries, and no medical aid injuries.
