Piedmont Lithium has cancelled its application with the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) due to high costs associated with the process, the US mining company told Reuters.  

The decision to withdraw from the application process was made as Piedmont is being forced to preserve cash flows after an 83% fall in lithium prices over the past year.  

The company recently cancelled plans for a lithium processing facility in Tennessee, even though it had already received approval for a $141.7m government grant. Piedmont told shareholders it intended to land a debt financing scheme for between 65% and 75% of the total cost of the North Carolina lithium project, which is set to cost $1bn.  

Keith Phillips, CEO of Piedmont, told Reuters that the company does not need to rush and move forward with the LPO application given market conditions and the changes to its North Carolina plans.  

Phillips added that the company must "maintain discipline and manage cash”, subsequently delaying project development timelines.  

The CEO has since told investors he does not know when the North Carolina site could open.  

Since last October, Piedmont has spent nearly $1.9m on application costs related to DOE loans. 

The company, which decreased its workforce by almost a third in 2024, has also been selling its Atlantic Lithium shares to maintain cash reserves. The company is the second-largest shareholder in Atlantic.