In 2022, how anxious is the shortage of lithium resources

In 2022, how anxious is the shortage of lithium resources?

In 2022, lithium resources “anxiety” is still increasing. From the end of the market, lithium carbonate prices repeatedly record highs, as of February 10, its offer on the breakthrough of 400,000 RMB/ton. As early as January 2022, the price of lithium carbonate exceeded 300,000 RMB/ton, and the price increase was nearly 40% in just one month. Compared with the average price of 55,000 RMB at the beginning of 2021, the price of lithium carbonate for batteries has soared by 645%, or more than six times.

It is reported that Some lithium carbonate enterprises have opened the “current price”, customers to purchase lithium carbonate without asking the price, immediately buy the goods. Lithium carbonate supply shortage degree can be seen.

From the enterprise side, the pace of global lithium mine acquisition and cooperative development is also getting faster. Since 2022, SUNRESIN NEW MATERIALS and EVE plan to jointly develop The Jieze Chaka Salt Lake in Tibet; Zangge Mining plans to cooperate with Super Resources Company to invest and develop Laguna Verde Salt Lake Lithium project in Argentina. China Mineral Resources is to acquire Zimbabwe’s Bikita mine, which has a capacity of 700,000 tonnes a year for ore processing……

Industry insiders estimate that the pace and magnitude of demand growth may be difficult to match for major planned lithium resources worldwide, and the actual development schedule is highly uncertain given the complexity of resource projects. Driven by demand, lithium salt is expected to be in short supply for a long time until 2023.

Global lithium mining competition situation is escalating

The pace of global lithium acquisition and development has accelerated

Under the pressure of supply shortage of lithium resources, the strategy of strengthening lithium resources has become a global consensus, and the competition will become more and more fierce in the future.

In fact, since 2021, with the continuous warming of the new energy market, power battery, materials, automotive, industrial and other industry giants as well as financial capital to accelerate the entry, the global lithium mining competition situation is constantly upgrading. According to incomplete statistics, in 2021, there will be 17 global lithium mine merger and acquisition and development projects, involving an amount of more than 44.5 billion RMB. Nine of them are in China.

Lithium mining competition is at a crossfire, an obvious situation is that the global enterprise is deepening the global lithium layout. Among them, The layout speed and scale of Chinese enterprises are the most outstanding performance, and it is expected to dominate the lithium supply market in the future.

Lithium mining competition is at a crossfireglobal enterprise is deepening the global lithium layout

Supply chains face gaps and demand for lithium battery production increases

The urgency of lithium mine competition lies in that, on the one hand, facing the TWh era, the effective supply chain will face a huge gap, battery enterprises need to prevent the risk of resource supply interruption in advance; On the other hand, the price of lithium electric materials is “soaring”. Battery enterprises need to suppress the price fluctuation of supply chain and realize the cost control of core raw materials.

Data forecast that by 2025, the global penetration rate of new energy vehicles will reach more than 25%, which will drive the global shipments of power batteries to exceed 1100GWh. Energy storage market inflection point will also accelerate, it is estimated that the global shipments of energy storage battery will reach 416GWh in 2025. Combined with the demand of light vehicles, low-speed vehicles, heavy trucks, ships and other scenarios, the total global demand is expected to reach 1800GWh in 2025.

According to the estimation that the processing capacity of 10,000 tons of lithium carbonate can meet the demand of 15GWh battery, the production capacity of 1.2 million tons of lithium carbonate will be derived.

Supply chains face gaps and demand for lithium battery production increases

Current dynamic trend of lithium resources

Controlling mineral resources means that enterprises can hold the “throat” of stable supply and cost control of lithium resources. From the perspective of current enterprise dynamics, the main trends are as follows:

Chinese enterprises have a stronger say in lithium resources

As a big demand country, from the perspective of stable supply and cost control, Chinese enterprises’ acquisition of lithium mines abroad will accelerate the development of lithium resources in China, and the discourse power of lithium resources will continue to increase. It can be foreseen that the deployment of lithium resources through equity, acquisition, lock long order and other ways will become the main melody of the future market.

Salt lake lithium status further improved

Controlling mineral resources means that enterprises can hold the throat of stable supply and cost control of lithium resources

At present, the global supply of lithium ore is dominated by spodumene lithium, and the supply representative country is Australia. However, as Australian lithium concentrates are sold by auction, it becomes more difficult for Chinese lithium salt enterprises to cooperate with them, and the cost management of lithium is out of control.

Among the proven lithium resources in the world, 58% are salt lake brine. The global representative lithium resources are distributed in the Lithium triangle of South America (Bolivia, Chile and Argentina), the western United States and Qinghai and Tibet of China. Salt Lake lithium extraction is highly expected, in view of salt Lake resources scale advantage, cash cost advantage, as well as lithium extraction technology increasingly breakthrough, salt lake lithium strategic supply position will be further improved.

The development and utilization of lithium resources in China is accelerating

Facing the global carbon neutrality goal and the TWh era, the strategic importance of lithium resources has become a global consensus, and the competition is bound to become increasingly fierce in the future. China’s efforts to develop lithium resources are of strategic significance to ensure the supply security of lithium resources.

Facing the global carbon neutrality goal and the TWh era, the strategic importance of lithium resources has become a global consensus

In terms of lithium extraction from salt lake, EVE, Fulin Fine Industry, Ganfeng Lithium, Xizang Mining and Zangge Lithium have already extended their tentpoles to domestic salt lake resources, participating in mineral development and resource lock.

In terms of lithium extraction from mica, CATL and GOTION High-tech have settled in Yichun. From industrial chain connection to capital support, they have made further breakthroughs in lithium extraction technology from mica, reduced costs, solved problems such as waste residue treatment, and made lithium mica an important supplement for lithium resource supply in the future.

China’s lithium extraction technology and mass production scale have reached the inflection point of qualitative change and will play an important role in the global lithium resource stage in the future.

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