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https://thewest.com.au/business/min...ll-above-the-prevailing-spot-price-c-15862968


Albemarle sells hard rock lithium for $US870 per tonne say sources, well above the prevailing spot price
Adrian RausoThe West Australian
Wed, 28 August 2024 4:27PM
Adrian Rauso


The Greenbushes lithium mine in WA's South West.Credit: Talison Lithium/TheWest

For the second time in six months Albemarle has sold spodumene concentrate at auction for more than 10 per cent above the battery commodity’s prevailing spot price.

Sources aware of the auction result say 16,150 tonnes of Albemarle’s spodumene was sold in China. When adjusted to the industry benchmark grade of six per cent spodumene, the sale was equivalent to $US870 per tonne, excluding taxes.

This is well above the spot price of $US760/t listed on Fastmarkets and $US780/t on the Shanghai Metals Market.

The sale at a sizeable premium to spot will again revive hopes for WA’s struggling lithium miners that a market rebound is around the corner.

Albemarle first auctioned off its spodumene in March for $US1195/t, above the equivalent spot price of about $US1075/t at the time.
The US giant flagged the strategy in February to “explore price discovery while ensuring a fair and transparent process for all customers”.

It aimed to do this via a bidding model where buyers can “state what they consider the appropriate price to be through private bids”.

But since the March auction prices have continued to sag. However, lithium optimism is building again after the recent release of electric vehicle sale data in China.

In the first 18 days of August about 490,000 electric vehicles were sold in China, up 58 per cent from a year ago. That was up 27 per cent for the same time frame last month, according to data compiled by the China Passenger Car Association.

Pilbara Minerals boss Dale Henderson told The West Australian on Monday the data is a “very important” marker of the future lithium environment.

“The Chinese market is such a big subset of the EV demand globally, so how China is growing and their adoption rates has a significant bearing on the market,” he said.

Lithium is a key ingredient for the batteries that power electric vehicles.

Albemarle’s lithium mining operations in WA are centred on a 49 per cent stake in the Talison joint venture that controls Australia’s largest lithium mine – Greenbushes — in the State’s South West near Bridgetown.

Tianqi and IGO control the remaining 51 per cent.

Albemarle also has a 50/50 joint venture with Mineral Resources at the Wodgina lithium mine 120km south of Port Hedland in the Pilbara. Albemarle does not comment on the results of its auctions.