When will the shorts blink ?, page-9

These wholesale shorts in the lithium secotr had me wondering if there are macro events at play. This AFR article possibly points to that.

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Mr Henderson said a West Australian miner like Pilbara Minerals could not compete with China’s low-cost minerals processing capacity at industrial facilities.

“To be frank, it’s hard to make Australia work given the cost base particularly in the Pilbara region – the labour, construction, and energy costs are high,” said Mr Henderson.

“So the first principles case makes it very difficult to justify the investment without more government support if Australia wants to deliver on the ambition of onshoring the value-added processing.”

Earlier in the week, Citi cut its short-term lithium price forecasts, but raised its long-term price forecasts based on a supply deficit in 2030. Price forecasts for higher-value battery-grade lithium carbonate refined in China were cut to an average of $US22,000 a tonne in 2024 and $US24,000 a tonne for lithium hydroxide in 2024.

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I appreciate the article mentions PLS but you could put any western based miner in there imho.

Thoughts?