Pilbara CEO warns Australia losing lithium edge to Brazil

[Ben Graham]

Australia’s Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) has found operating in Brazil to be easier than at home, just months after completing a A$560 million ($363 million) acquisition to establish a foothold in South America.

Speaking at the WA Mining Club in Perth on Thursday, the company’s chief executive officer Dale Henderson said the Brazilian mining state of Minas Gerais was similar to Western Australia, but the company had so far found it easier to get things done in Brazil.

“We would join the chorus of many others who say it’s got more difficult [in Australia],” Henderson said. “This state, and Australia at large, has been leading the world in resources, but we can lose that mantle.”

He warned that while Australia’s lithium sector had grown, it was falling behind in relative terms. “Others are growing faster. We’re regressing relative to the rest,” Henderson said. “If we don’t have a successful upstream, we certainly can’t have successful downstream – one leads to the other.”

PLS’ wish list

Henderson called on the Australian government to sharpen its focus on competitiveness, starting with shared infrastructure and energy.

He cited the Lumsden Point port development in WA as an example of smart government investment, saying similar initiatives were needed. “That’s a no-brainer. Then after that, it is power infrastructure. Those would be really the two key areas.”

Electricity costs were a major concern. Henderson said power at the Salinas site in Brazil was expected to cost A4–5c per kilowatt hour, compared to A10–20c/kWh in the Pilbara.

“[Australia] should have low-cost power. We’ve got the space. We’ve got the solar, wind – you name it,” he said. “That’s a key place for government to play – to leverage the incredible strengths we’ve got to bring that cost of power down.”

Lithium green shoots

Henderson also addressed the state of the lithium market, noting the price of spodumene had climbed above $900 per tonne last month, up from around $600/t in July. He said the company believed the rally was sustainable.

“Our view remains that there’s a structural deficit to emerge, ultimately, given the strong growth, the strong growth drivers and the absence of supply chain investment,” he said. “The big question everyone is wrestling with is when?”

PLS has weathered dramatic price swings before, from lows of $400/tonne in 2019 to selling spot cargoes for over $8000/t in 2022. Henderson said that volatility was par for the course in a young market lacking robust price discovery.

“It explains some of the outsized responses you can get from news or gossip, but ultimately, I think that will get remedied as the industry grows.”