Lithium and iron ore prices push MinRes to half-year loss

Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) has again dumped its dividend as bloodcurdling lithium prices sent its half-year performance deep into the red, while guidance for its new Onslow Iron project has also been reduced for FY25 due to wet weather in the Pilbara.

Shares tumbled by close to 12% in response, hitting levels not seen since November 2020.

Chris Ellison’s beleaguered miner copped a 200% turnaround, sending its interim result from a $196m profit in H1 2024 to a $196m underlying after tax loss in H1 2025.

Statutory NPAT was hit even harder, with an $807m loss comprising a $352m post tax impairment on the mothballed Bald Hill lithium mine and $232m of post tax impact on foreign currency balances.

Lithium prices crumbled last year, chopping the SC6 equivalent price received by MinRes from US$1719/dmt to US$820/dmt, with shipments up 28% to 261,000t.

Iron ore shipments rose 11% to 9.7 million wmt, with Onslow shipping 4.6Mt and hitting an 18Mtpa production rate in the month of January.

But wet weather from the Pilbara’s unusually severe cyclone season and a decision to upgrade and fully asphalt the Onslow haul road will see production guidance cut from 10.5-11.7Mt for FY25 to 8.8-9.3Mt, with costs lifted from $58-68/t to $60-70/t and mining services tonnes cut from 295-315Mt to 280-300Mt.

Capex guidance for FY25 has been lifted from $1.945bn to ~$2.1bn.

Prices in iron ore also hit the bottom line, with MinRes seeing weighted average prices drop 25% to US$83/dmt. Underlying EBITDA dropped 55% to $302m.