Lithium prices tipped to rise 20 per cent by 2017 on demand for electric cars, page-5

Lithium and Tantalum: Markets for the 21st Century

Lithium and tantalum are emerging as two critically important resources for 21st century technology. Both materials are expected to see unprecedented demand in the near future.

In 2014, the battery-grade market represented 31 percent of the total global end-use market for lithium, while the ceramic and glass market accounted for 35 percent. Both of these markets have high entry barriers as end users expect high-purity, low-contaminant products.

Available supply for these markets has been limited due to recent mine closures that have left only one major low-iron spodumene source (the Greenbushes deposit in Australia). Analysts are forecasting a supply shortfall for battery-grade lithium as early as 2016, while demand is expected to grow by 134 percent between 2012 and 2017.

Tantalum is used in a wide variety of applications across the electronics, medicine, engineering and energy-generation industries. Nearly half of yearly tantalum consumption comes from the electronics industry. The blue-gray metal can be found in many everyday items, including laptops, smartphones, appliances, ATMs, vehicle navigation systems and hearing aids.

Since 1995, the market for tantalum has experienced average yearly growth in demand of about 8 to 12 percent per year; analysts are now forecasting high tantalum prices for the next five years. End users are facing increasing market pressure to secure conflict-free sources of tantalum, further tightening global supply.

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