Lithium Metal Prices Remain Bearish Across the Globe Amidst Ample Supplies
- 28-Aug-2023 2:31 PM
- Journalist: Robert Hume
The price of Lithium Metal remains on a lower edge in the Global market as the supply of Lithium Metal surged in the international market. The price decline was coupled with the decline in critical metal prices as the demand dampened amidst economic slowdown across the globe. The major downstream industries across the globe have shown an increase in interest in Lithium mining countries and their natural reserves. Lithium Metal mining nations such as Australia, Ghana, and many others have recently received various deals to expand their extraction and exploration activity. The market players remained in a wait-and-watch situation as the supply booms and prices declined worldwide.
Since the start of the third quarter, the price of Lithium Metal has shown a declining trend in the global market amid oversupply from the mining countries. Australian mines have seen a boost as major downstream automotive industries concerning electric vehicle sectors are eagerly investing in mining critical minerals such as Lithium Metal. Australian companies such as Wesfarmer and SQM signed a joint venture to invest USD 2 billion to produce battery-quality lithium hydroxide in Australia in the upcoming year. This has increased the mining rate of Lithium Metal under the Mt. Holland Lithium project in the Western Australian region. Additionally, Liontown Resources, a Tier-1 battery mineral producer in St. Perth, Western Australia, has now gained complete takeover of the Kathleen Valley Lithium spodumene project in Western Australia. This has also increased the supply of Lithium Metal in the Australian and overseas global markets. Furthermore, the Australian lithium developer Azure Minerals has decided to invest USD 180 million to fund the Andover lithium project in Western Australia.
Moreover, the Nevada Lithium Corporation plans to gain complete ownership of the Bonnie Claire Project in Nevada, USA. This has put the mining activity on a higher edge in the US spot market. Furthermore, the overseas Lithium Metal mines in Ghana are also expected to show an uprise in extraction rate. At the same time, Ghana’s Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) is in talks with Atlantic Lithium, a lithium-focused exploration and development company, to invest USD 30 billion in the company developing a lithium mine in the West African country. These facts have been pulled out as the major cause of the oversupply in Lithium Metal across the globe and provoked the mills to lower their prices and provide high discounts to avoid overstocking in the warehouses worldwide.
According to ChemAnalyst, the price of Lithium Metal is expected to show a slower purchase rate as the mining activity shows a boost across various mining countries. Meanwhile, the demand from the downstream automotive industries is expected to rise in the upcoming quarter, which could improve the trade conditions for the Lithium Metal market. The battery industries are expanding their production rate, which would create a pessimistic market for Lithium Metal globally and will increase its prices.