Last week, IGO announced the sale of its Nova nickel operation in Western Australia to Global Lithium Resources (ASX: GL1) for just $7 million, comprising $3 million in cash, $2 million in GL1 shares and $2 million in deferred cash. The sale marks IGO’s latest exit from nickel, following the divestment of its Forrestania operations, as CEO Ivan Vella continues to reposition the company towards lithium and copper through exploration and partnerships rather than acquisitions.
Following the Nova divestment, IGO’s portfolio will consist primarily of its 50.1% stake in Greenbushes (the world’s largest hard-rock lithium mine, operated by Talison Lithium in a JV with Albemarle) and its 49% stake in the Kwinana lithium hydroxide refinery, making lithium the company’s dominant earnings driver. Once Nova completes in early 2027, IGO will be effectively a pure-play lithium company with optionality on copper/gold exploration, a very different business to the diversified miner it was just two years ago.
IGO is a very low-cost lithium producer benefiting from Greenbushes exceptional ore grade (~2.0–2.5% Li₂O, among the highest in the world), large scale, and decades of operational optimisation. At this stage, we prefer PLS, which offers direct, unencumbered exposure to spodumene prices through 100% ownership of Pilgangoora, affording investors a clean, leveraged play on the lithium price cycle without the complexity of JV structures or non-lithium assets.
- We can see IGO finding support in the near future after its pullback to the $6.50 level.
MM is cautiously bullish towards IGO around $6.50
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