Albemarle halts Australian lithium operations after reporting larger than expected loss

Albemarle Corporation ALB, headquartered in the United States US, announced on Wednesday that it will idle the last active processing train at its Kemerton processing plant in Western Australia, Australia AU and cancel plans to add two new trains at the site. The decision was made public alongside the company's financial results for the quarter ended Dec. 31, which revealed a larger-than-expected quarterly loss and prompted an after-hours decline in share prices.

As the world’s largest lithium producer, the company attributed these significant operational changes to persistent weakness in lithium prices. The industry has faced a multi-year collapse in prices, which have fallen by more than 90% over the last two years. This downturn has had a broad impact on the sector, leading to project delays, buyouts, and layoffs across various global operations, including those in China CN.