MinRes to auction lithium in quest for ‘real price...

MinRes to auction lithium in quest for ‘real price transparency’

Mineral Resources will start selling lithium on a digital auction platform after fetching a much higher premium for a recent sale than the prevailing spot price for the battery-making material.

MinRes, led by billionaire Chris Ellison, said it would move to the digital platform to “generate real price transparency” in a market dominated by China.

The Perth-headquartered company and New York-listed Albemarle have both sold spodumene concentrate from mines in Western Australia at a premium to the spot price recently.

The sales come amid a revival in lithium prices that UBS has linked to better-than-expected demand in March and short-term supply disruption.

MinRes achieved a price of $US1300 ($1993) a tonne on a 6 per cent spodumene concentrate basis compared to a spot price of around $US1075 a tonne.

The sale was not by auction, and MinRes has not decided which digital platform it will use in following Pilbara Minerals and Albemarle down the auction route.

The cargo of about 20,000 tonnes was sold to a buyer in China and came from the Mt Marion mine MinRes owns in partnership with China’s Ganfeng.

MinRes lithium boss Joshua Thurlow said the company had seen the price of Australian spodumene concentrate increase 37 per cent over the past two months.

“Last week, MinRes sold spodumene concentrate at $US1300 a tonne, more than 10 per cent higher than the current spot price,” he said.

“It’s clear the market is waking up to the future demand for lithium that is required for the global energy transition as long-awaited supply projects slow down or fail to materialise.

“MinRes is now looking at putting parcels on a digital auction platform, so we can generate real price transparency.”