Banter and general comments, page-15091

Here's the link, Gov. resource data (at least) we can trust. Resources-and-Energy-Quarterly-September-2022.pdf (industry.gov.au)

And a lot of good news for Lithium sector, in section 15.

15.5 Australia

Lithium set to become a $10 billion-plus export industry within a year
Record spodumene prices are estimated to have lifted export revenue
from $1.1 billion in 2020–21 to $4.9 billion in 2021–22. Production from
lithium hydroxide refineries is forecast to steadily add to earnings over the
outlook period, lifting total annual lithium export revenue to an estimated
$12.9 billion in 2023–24.

The emergence of what is likely to be Australia’s newest $10 billion-plus
export industry occurred in three quite distinct stages (Figure 15.5).
From 2013–14 to 2017–18 the industry built capacity. Production volumes
and export revenues rose from under $200 million to $1.7 billion — a more
than eightfold increase.

Over the next three years, global demand lost momentum and prices and
revenues plunged. This fall tested the resilience of businesses, with some
facilities relegated to care and maintenance.

But as global battery manufacturers and automakers reassessed their
requirements over the course of 2021, demand for lithium took off again.
This third stage holds even stronger growth prospects than the first, with
Australia’s lithium export revenues forecast to grow from $1.1 billion in
2020–21 to $13.8 billion in 2022–23 — a tenfold increase in just two years.

While much of the forecast export growth is price driven, Australia’s
production capacity is also forecast to grow strongly over the outlook.
Expected annual average growth of over 20% a year will see production
rise from 247,000 tonnes of LCE in 2020–21 to 387,000 tonnes in 2022–
23, and 469,000 tonnes in 2023–24.