Australian mining company officially announces restart of Bald Hill lithium mine in Western Australia

Australian mining company Mineral Resources Limited (MinRes) announced that, given the sustained and significant recovery in market lithium prices, the company has decided to restart its wholly-owned Bald Hill lithium project.

The lithium mine previously suspended operations in November 2024 to enter full maintenance mode, a move aimed at properly preserving the value of the high-quality lithium resource totaling 58.1 million tonnes at a grade of 0.94% Li2O within the mining area. The Bald Hill lithium mine is located in the Goldfields region of Western Australia; upon reaching full production, it can produce 165,000 dry metric tonnes per annum of spodumene concentrate at a grade of 5.1%, equivalent to 140,000 dry metric tonnes of SC6 specification lithium concentrate.

Leveraging existing on-site raw material inventory, complete production equipment, and a mature and stable local workforce system, the mine is able to complete the resumption of work safely and efficiently. According to the established plan, the project will officially commence on-site preparation work in late May, advance ore mining and crushing processes in June, and successfully produce the first batch of lithium concentrate products in July.

Regarding shipping, the first shipment of lithium concentrate is expected to be completed from the Port of Esperance in the first quarter of fiscal year 2027, with full production operations achieved in the second quarter. On the financial front, the restart of the mine, including working capital, is expected to incur A$20 million in related expenses in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026, and the company will formally disclose its overall operational performance guidance for fiscal year 2027 in August of this year.