At these prices only 1 Lithium spod producer is profitable....

At these prices only 1 Lithium spod producer is profitable. Search for 'real production costs at asx Lithium miners will shock you'. An article by citi.

Australia 2 years ago was responsible for >40% of the lithium production, the article suggests now for 35% while Australia significantly upscaled spod prod.

For now only ltm is putting a spod mine on c&m next year, others are still expanding.

If ~35% of the worlds Lithium production isnt profitable it is just a matter of time before the spot prices react. I also guess the Chinese lepo production (20 - 25% of world prod) isnt profitable, but can be subsidized. Battery manufacturers do see these numbers as well and I think they are also looking into stockpilling at these prices.

Also Lithium futures contracts on the comex >18 months out are trading at 20/30% premium to spot (check Lithium futures on tradingview), I think a lot of companies selling futures instead of supplying in this market right now, which also takes supply of the market.

Because of the reasons above and the opaqueness of the Chinese Lithium market I think the lithium market can change overnight.

I think the reason why Ltm is trading lesser than its peers is because of the deferred income tax (>1 bln) they have on there balance sheet. Check altm latest 10q. Nonetheless I think ltm is in the best shape to get through this downturn.