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Arcadium Lithium plans to transition Mt Cattlin site to care & maintenance by mid-2025 due to continued decline in spodumene prices

Arcadium Lithium will suspend Stage 4A waste stripping, and any expansionary investment beyond Stage 3, at its Mt Cattlin spodumene operation in Western Australia given the continued decline in spodumene prices.

Benchmark reported that spodumene prices fell to their lowest levels since August 2021 in early September, trailing the steep drop in prices of lithium chemicals in recent months. Spodumene FOB Australia prices have fallen 14.4% so far this year to $818 per tonne in the assessment period ending 4 September, according to the Benchmark Lithium Price Assessment. Prices have shrunk to one eighth of the peak levels of $6,401 per tonne seen in December 2022.

Additionally, the company plans to place the Mt Cattlin site into Care & Maintenance after it completes Stage 3 mining and ore processing by the end of the first half of 2025.

As a result of these decisions, the company expects to increase net expected cash flow in 2024 and 2025 cumulatively by approximately US$75 to 100 million.

The company does not intend to close Mt Cattlin at this time. Care & Maintenance will keep the mine and processing facilities in a position potentially to resume operations when market conditions become more favorable. Arcadium Lithium will continue to explore the viability of underground mining at the Mt Cattlin site, which could potentially extend the remaining mine life.

We remain committed to developing our global portfolio of hard rock assets and are confident that they will continue to be a significant part of Arcadium Lithium's growth story. Unfortunately, production at Mt Cattlin beyond the current stage of the open pit cannot be justified in the current price environment for spodumene.

—Paul Graves, president and CEO

Additional details will be provided at Arcadium Lithium Investor Day on 19 September.

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