General Discussion Topics, page-135079

Something not from GS or MS or UBS, ...

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/global-lithium-carbonate-supply-report-2024-xuan-ce-wang-kdtvc/

It's a pretty good and thorough review of carbonate in China ... not that that's where we want to be but it is what is driving the prices we receive until we get to de-couple from them (the sooner the better)

The overall conclusion ... FX is 0.14 yuan/renminbi to US$1 ... so US$11K - US$23.5K with midpoint around $16.7K. Notes that




Makes observation (below) of where they think losses start for Chinese converters (non integrated)... ~US$11K
Reference to Xinyu Jinfeng of spodumene cash cost being 96,000 Yuan/ton (US$13.35K/t) for Lithium Carbonate, means that's the amount they spend to buy spodumene and then process it at 14,000 Yuan/ton (US$2K/t) to have cash cost Lithium Carbonate 110,000Y/t (US$15.3K/t).
So barely profitable at that earlier midpoint of 120,000Y/t and losing boatloads at present. REMEMBER it is these non-integrated converters that would fail first. CATL also has lepidolite mine ... but its integrated with smelter and then CAM and battery.