(Yicai) April 30 -- The founder of Tianqi Lithium, China’s largest lithium miner, has handed the reins to his daughter to lead the company on its next stage of development after a loss-making first quarter.

Jiang Weiping is stepping down as chairman of the board in order to make way for the next generation , the Chengdu-based company said yesterday.

Jiang Anqi will immediately be put to the test. The price of lithium has been tumbling and in the first three months Tianqi Lithium logged net losses of CNY3.9 billion (USD538.4 million), a huge reversal from the profit of CNY4.9 billion a year ago, according to the company’s latest earnings report released yesterday. Revenue plunged 77 percent to CNY2.6 billion.

37-year-old Jiang Anqi served as vice chairwoman of the company since 2022 where she was responsible for the formulation of strategies and investment schemes as well as aiding the chairman in strategic decisions, it said. Before that, she was a director.

Jiang Weiping, who is the biggest shareholder with around 23 percent equity, will stay on as a director and remain on the board to help with long-term growth and strategic planning.

The 69-year-old is one of the country's entrepreneurial success stories. He turned a lithium carbonate plant in Shehong county, southwestern Sichuan province, that he bought in 2004, into one of the country’s biggest lithium miners.

Jiang Weiping expressed his confidence in his daughter’s ability to run the company during a meeting with company shareholders in May 2022. Tianqi Lithium, which went public in Shenzhen in 2010, has strong governance structures and management mechanisms and will not be affected by the departure of any individual, he added.

Tianqi Lithium’s share price [SHE:002466] closed down 3.1 percent at CNY39.51 (USD5.46) today.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Kim Taylor