The Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) share price is charging higher today.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) lithium stock closed yesterday at 2.3 cents. In early Friday trade, shares were changing hands for 2.5 cents apiece, up 8.7%, before retracing to 2.4 cents at the time of writing.
For some context, the ASX 300 is up 0.8% at this same time.
This outperformance comes as investors mull over the miner's December quarterly results and just two days after Sayona Mining shares plumbed four-year lows.
Here are the highlights from the quarter just past.
Sayona Mining share price lifts off with revenue boost
Investors are bidding up the Sayona Mining share price after the company reported achieving strong concentrate production and cost reduction at its North American Lithium (NAL) project.
Revenue for the three months came in at $70 million, up 33% from the September quarter, with higher sales volumes offsetting a small dip in the average realised selling prices.
Sayona mined 370,409 wet metric tonnes (wmt) of ore, 54% more than in the September quarter. Lithium recovery edged up to 68%, a 1% improvement.
Spodumene production of 50,922 dry metric tonnes (dmt) was down 2% from the prior quarter at an average grade of 5.3%. Management noted that this remained in-line with forecasts.
Also boosting the Sayona Mining share price, the miner achieved record spodumene sales of 66,000 tonnes, up 34.7% from the prior quarter.
The average realised selling price (FOB) dipped by 1% to $1,054/dmt. Unit operating costs (per tonne sold) decreased by 6% to $1,258/dmt.
The December quarter also saw Sayona Mining Limited and Piedmont Lithium announce a definitive agreement to merge, with an approximately 50/50 equity split between their shareholders upon completion.
And Sayona completed a successful capital raise of $38 million. The miner said it would undertake a conditional placement of $69 million in the merged business to Resource Capital Fund VIII L.P upon closing of the merger.
As at 31 December, Sayona Mining held cash and cash equivalents of $110.4 million, up 6% from 30 September.
What did management say?
Commenting on the results helping boost the Sayona Mining share price today, CEO Lucas Dow said:
It was another quarter of strong operational performance for Sayona, with spodumene concentrate production at NAL of 50,922 dmt and the operation approaching cash break-even.
On the merger front, he added, "A major milestone this quarter was the announcement of a definitive merger agreement between Sayona Mining and Piedmont Lithium, forming a leading lithium business."
And Sayona Mining's exploratory drilling campaigns continued apace during the quarter.
Dow said:
NAL and Moblan both undertook significant drilling programs in 2024 to further test and define their mineral resources… In Western Australia, drilling at the Mt Edon project (Morella Lithium JV) confirmed significant pegmatite zones with rubidium and lithium mineralisation.
Exploration at West Wodgina identified five new lithium targets, and fieldwork at Tabba Tabba revealed additional pegmatite outcrops, with drilling plans set for 2025.
Looking at what might impact the Sayona Mining share price in the months ahead, the miner reconfirmed its FY 2025 production guidance of 190,000 to 210,000 dmt, with unit operating costs (per tonne sold) of $1,150 to $1,300/dmt.
