Electric vehicle demand supercharges lithium hopes as new mine...

Electric vehicle demand supercharges lithium hopes as new mine opens east of Perthhttps://www.msn.com/en-au/money/news/electric-vehicle-demand-supercharges-lithium-hopes-as-new-mine-opens-east-of-perth/ar-BB1jteyo?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=69b33961a5c44a3e810f32c3c7ebc067&ei=60

Wesfarmers and its Chilean partner SQM are bullish about lithium’s future despite low prices causing current players to curtail growth plans.

SQMchief executive Ricardo Ramos said he expected the battery mineral’s price to be much better by year’s end, and 2025 to be better still.

Ramos, speaking at the official opening of the new Mt Holland lithium mine on Thursday, said it was only the first step of its plans in Australia.

“I would like to have 10 different Mt Hollands, one is not enough,” he said.

While SQM is a lithium specialist, Wesfarmers is entering the business just as established players are cutting back.

Wesfarmers chief executive Rob Scott said his conglomerate was always scanning for new opportunities in battery minerals.

Scott said the real challenge was to get projects to market sooner.

Albemarle has delayed committing to build a fourth train at its Kemerton lithium hydroxide plant, and production at WA’s first lithium mine at Greenbushes has been trimmed.

The market may have hit bottom, according to research by Citi released this week, in which its long-term growth outlook for lithium of 20 per cent a year remained intact. However, Citi expected only moderate price improvements this year.

Underlying the long-term optimism was the idea that growth in electric vehicle sales was inevitable.

Batteries made up 30 to 40 per cent of an EV’s cost – and all batteries needed lithium.