Australia's IGO lowers capex forecast for Greenbushes lithium mine in Western Australia

April 30 (Reuters) - Australia's IGO Ltd IGO.AX said on Wednesday that it was cutting its fiscal 2025 capital expenditure forecast for its Greenbushes lithium mine in Western Australia.

The miner now expects to spend around A$700 million ($447.09 million) to A$800 million, down from its previous estimate range of A$850 million to A$950 million for fiscal 2025.

IGO said it was lowering the forecast following a review and optimisation of the project capital portfolio.

The Greenbushes lithium mine is majorly owned by IGO and its Chinese joint-venture partner Tianqi Lithium 002466.SZ as well as U.S.-based Albemarle Corp ALB.N.

Greenbushes, Western Australia's longest continuously operated mining area, produced 341 thousand metric tons of spodumene concentrate in the third quarter, a 13% dip sequentially.

The miner last year said that the lithium market had been troubling the firm with spodumene, lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide prices falling by up to 70% in fiscal 2024.

Some mines that produce lithium, used in electric vehicle batteries, have curtailed operations or delayed expansions after a 90% drop in prices over the last two years, while other loss-making mines have maintained production, largely because they have the support of Chinese battery makers.

Earlier this year, the miner and Tianqi Lithium 002466.SZ agreed to cease all works at one of its lithium hydroxide plants in Western Australia.

The company's decision to halt operations at the Kwinana lithium hydroxide plant followed IGO's previous writedowns on its nickel operations, which have prompted a strategic review to reassess its resources amid a global nickel market oversupply that drove prices down last year.

Separately, the miner reported an underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of A$34 million for the third quarter, swinging from last quarter's EBITDA loss of A$79 million.

Shares of the company were down nearly 1.9% as of 0058 GMT, while the broader mining index .AXMM shed 0.4%.

($1 = 1.5657 Australian dollars)