2nd urea crisis? Four metals China can weaponize against EV battery firms
Manganese cartel Manganese is a common metal produced pretty much anywhere on Earth, but China produces more than 90 percent of the “high-purity” manganese used for EV batteries. Dozens of Chinese manganese companies in October last year joined a state-backed initiative and formed a cartel-like organization called “Manganese Innovation Alliance.” Since its establishment, the cartel has driven up the price of manganese. The price, which stood at $1,145 per metric ton in October last year, more than doubled to $2,505 this October, data from the Korea Mineral Resource Information Service showed. Manganese is not the only metal whose supply comes at the mercy of China. Though 70 percent of the world’s cobalt is mined in Congo, 72 percent of global supplies are purified and refined in China. Australia, the world’s largest producer of lithium, exports 89 percent of the supplies to China because most of the infrastructure to process lithium for EV batteries is located there. Also, China is spending billions of dollars in Indonesia, which accounts for 30 percent of global nickel production. With massive capital, multiple Chinese firms are setting up infrastructure to process the metal locally. “China’s overwhelming dominance over key metal resources is a ticking time bomb that can always explode,” analyst Kim said.
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