IGO has endured a shocking few years after paying a crazy price for the nickel business Western Areas (WSA) in 2021, only to watch prices collapse. IGO has placed several nickel, as opposed to lithium, operations into care and maintenance; its lithium operations, including the Greenbushes mine and the Kwinana refinery, remain active, albeit facing operational challenges. We regard IGO as a lower-quality business, although its interests in the Greenbushes lithium mine and the Kwinana lithium hydroxide refinery deliver plenty of upside if Li prices do recover meaningfully above $US1,000, with its Greenbushes operation being among the most cost-effective lithium producers globally.
- We can see IGO popping towards $6.50 if the current appetite for the Li space is maintained.