Both these projects in Zimbabwe and Brazil are low cost . Which...

Both these projects in Zimbabwe and Brazil are low cost . Which may impact high cost Australian producers till prices rebound . UBS long term Spod price 2030+ of US$1300 is about right imo. The huge investment in DLE could impact this price by 2030 .


https://www.mining-technology.com/projects/xuxa-lithium-project-minas-gerais/

Grota do Cirilo lithium project development details

Phase one is expected to produce 270,000t of high-purity 5.5%lithiumconcentrate per year and includes key infrastructure to support the phased expansion including the phase one production plant or Greentech plant.

Phase two will double the production rate to 531,000t and will make use of existing infrastructure from phase one and contribute an additional 261,100tpa of high-purity 5.5% lithium concentrate.

Sigma completed the commissioning of its crushing circuit of the Greentech Plant in February 2023. The company also began detailed engineering and capital expenditure for the Greentech plant expansion as part of phase two and three developments. The expansion is expected to increase production from 270,000tpa to 766,000tpa of battery grade sustainable lithium.

https://www.fastmarkets.com/insights/participants-speculate-price-floor-for-spodumene/

Growing gap between regions

One challenge exacerbating the decline in the spodumene price has been the regional variation of prices.

Though Australia has historically and still dominates spodumene production, new hubs of production have emerged in recent years and months. Spodumene is now being sourced from Brazil, North America and Africa, challenging the dominance of Australian material in the market.

This new material is often marketed competitively and has resulted in a wide spread of prices for spodumene, with Australian material typically trading at higher levels.

Though, this is often not due to significant differences in quality, more terms associated with the agreement, such as the quotation period. However, operational costs are also an important factor in the valuation of spodumene, with participants noting that Australian producers are typically higher on the cost curve.