LKE 2.0, page-1890

Stock...ead this morning.
Perth mining entrepreneur Michael Fotios urges investors not to throw the baby out the bath water with expectations lithium prices could rocket in the next 6 months.
Lithium boffin Michael Fotios sees carbonate prices reaching US$50,000t by Christmas.
Despite bearish forecasts from major investment banks, lithium industry pioneer and Scorpion Minerals boss Michael Fotios believes a potential tripling in carbonate prices could be on the cards by the end of the year.As lepidolite mining in China stalls and growth in electric vehicle production surges, Fotios – a second-generation geologist and founding father of Galaxy Resources – says carbonate prices could lift from their current base of US$18,000/t up to projections of US$50,000/t.
“I think the price will recover, double again and move higher between now and Christmas for lithium carbonate,” he says.“We’re seeing outstanding growth in electric vehicle production in China which is running at a 50% growth rate year on year.“America will eventually catch up, but you also have India and Europe who are actively trying to reach 50%
EV adoption rates over the next decade or so which is a very meaningful number.”
Signs of a market shift. An 80% slump in the price of lithium over the past 12 months has led to industry-wide pullbacks on exploration opportunities and project development.
Some companies are cutting back while others are shelving projects, unable to raise enough capital to find the lithium needed to feed the market.
“The Chinese have been destocking their large inventories that sit in front of their refineries in China, which has taken them out of the market for six months but they’re back very strongly as we’re starting to see now,” Fotios says.
“We’re seeing incoming interest from all over the world at the moment, especially China who’ve driven the price down.“They are now aggressively trying to take advantage of these low prices, chasing lithium companies since December and January looking for deals.”
Early bet on battery minerals proves prescient. Fotios was one of the first Australian mining executives to identify the potential of the battery minerals sector.