Wedoany.com Report-Oct 30 ,  The ongoing slump in lithium prices and the ramp up of another processing plant at the project were behind the decision to place Ngungaju in care and maintenance from Dec. 1, Pilbara said in a filing on Wednesday.

Pilbara’s decision followed a move by peer Albemarle Corp. in August, when it announced it was shutting half of its processing capacity in Australia and putting expansion plans on ice. Prices of the key battery metal used in electric vehicles have more than halved over the past 12 months, leading miners to curtail production.

The Perth-based company received $862 a ton for its spodumene concentrate during the three months ended September, down almost 20% on the previous quarter, it said. Revenue sunk by almost a third.