Stoc***ead todayBut Brinsden warned markets could turn quickly...

Stoc***ead today
But Brinsden warned markets could turn quickly in the volatile sector.“In the last cycle at Pilbara Minerals, we sold our lowest price cargo at about US$350/t,” he noted.
“We were roughly cash flow breakeven. So, clearly, at that time, you wouldn’t have developed Pilgangoora, but it was only three years later that it made $900 million cash flow in a quarter.“It’s an unbelievable market. And ultimately, that’s what you’re in the game for – the long run price. And the long run price indicates the project’s going to be a good one.”
Brinsden says recent pricing moves show the West needs to break away from China and become self-sufficient in its lithium and electric vehicle supply chain.
Recent weakness in prices and inflationary pressures on US carmakers has seen China steal the march, with battery costs and EV cost falling quickly. There are now concerns Chinese carmakers can undercut American, Japanese, Korean and European producers who previously had the edge on quality and competed on cost.
One of the attractive aspects of the Shaakichiuwaanaan project is tax credits for upstream production, not available in WA where new producers like Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) have called for royalty relief to help them get established but are yet to receive confirmation from government that support will be forthcoming.“It’s a good incentive to help build out the supply chain. Those same credits are available for the stuff that’s happening downstream as well, chemical plants and cathode plants and the like,” Brinsden said.“And my view is that there will be more, because it’ll become increasingly obvious, if it’s not already in the West, that China’s dominance of the supply chain is actually a really big problem, and it does have to be diversified.“I think the quote I’ve used historically is they’ve been asleep at the wheel, and in the last decade China’s created a level of dominance in most of the critical minerals industries, and lithium is no exception.
“The West should capitalise on our high quality resources, and that becomes our competitive advantage in building out these new supply chains.”