General Discussion, page-1418

I thought this might interest members.

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• S&P Global says that near-term, record lithium pricing remains supported on strong fundamentals
• In 2023, S&P sources expect Chinese lithium prices to fall back to a “reasonable” range on growing mine capacity and lower production costs
• However, this assumes new production comes online as expected, and that it can be economically converted into battery grade Li chemicals

Lithium prices in China continue to hit new record highs heading into the final weeks of 2022.

According to the latest Benchmark Mineral Intelligence data, lithium carbonate is selling for $US77,900/t, up 124% year-to-date.

Hydroxide is up 171.2% over the same period to ~$US77,275/t.

Lithium prices will stay high for now, but ‘lack momentum for further increases’ in 2023: Platts© Provided by *

S&P Global says that near-term pricing remains supported on strong fundamentals, with the latest auction price of Pilbara Minerals’ (ASXLS) spodumene, plus supply tightness in the domestic market, expected to keep Chinese lithium chemicals prices at elevated level.

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PLS’ 12th spodumene auction on November 16 received its highest-ever winning bid at $US7,805/ton for ~5.5% lithium oxide – 7.6% higher than the previous auction in October.

“[This is] underscoring a continued bullish sentiment for the lithium market despite prices having more than doubled since the start of the year,” says S&P Global.

“As the auction price is often used as a guidance for lithium prices going forward, market views for the near-term outlook will likely continue to strengthen, sources said.

“The bid of $US7,805/mt for spodumene is equivalent to the production cost of Yuan 582,000/t (~$US81,400/t) for battery-grade lithium carbonate after factoring in 13% value-added tax and Yuan 30,000/t of processing and refining fees.”

Adding upwards pressure on prices in the short term is reduced output from domestic Chinese brines producers over the upcoming winter.