Lithium is back baby.
After a dry few months the champagne flowed across the sector as everyone got excited a deep pocketed major may buy the bag they’ve been holding through the (not so great) lithium price fall of Q1 2023.
The reason?
Liontown Resources and
its decision to knock back a non binding indicative proposal of a $2.50 a share buyout, valued at $5.2 billion, from US lithium giant Albemarle.
Its stock is up 67.5% to $2.55, beyond the offer price and well above its previous ATH of $2.20, signalling investors think another bid from Albemarle or another resource hungry major could be in order.
Both Chalice and Liontown count Perth businessman Tim Goyder as a major shareholder.
Some day for last year’s Diggers and Dealers GJ Stokes Award winner.
Materials stocks rose 2.19% with lithium companies jostling for position at the head of the winner’s list.
Now lets get this shit show on the road and back on track asap
Food for thought Fletch
Cheers
Frank
Value of battery metals in newly-sold EVs tripled on rampant lithium, nickel prices
The EV Metal Index, which tracks the value of battery metals in newly registered passenger EVs (including full battery, plug-in and conventional hybrids) around the world, totalled $26.9 billion in 2022, an increase of 232% compared to the prior year.
That figure means as much EV battery metal business was done in 2022 than the combined total of the preceding five years.
And that came despite pandemic lockdowns for most of the year in the world’s largest EV market and turmoil in Europe, the world’s no. 2 electric car market, due to the Ukraine war.
In fact, the value of battery metals deployed in December last year alone surpassed all of 2019 and 2020 combined.
A rush in end-of-year registrations is a feature of the global vehicle market, but December was a blockbuster month in all aspects.
Total battery capacity of the 1.64m EVs sold during December set a new monthly record, expanding 29% year on year to 63.6 GWh, according to Adamas Intelligence, which tracks demand for EV batteries by chemistry, cell supplier and capacity in over 100 countries.
In order to produce the most accurate data, the monthly battery capacity deployed numbers in the MINING.COM EV Metal Index do not include cars leaving assembly lines, those on dealership lots or in the wholesale supply chain, only end-user registered vehicles.
Blockbuster December
In December 2022, a record 38,061 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent were deployed onto roads globally (55% carbonate, 45% hydroxide) in the batteries of all newly sold passenger EVs combined, up 46% over the same month the year prior.
Lithium prices were also peaking in December around $70,000 a tonne, which lifted the lithium subindex to $2.7 billion during the month, surpassing December 2021 by 280%.
The same was true of nickel, with a record 27,676 tonnes in newly-sold EVs rolling off the lot in December, up 40% over the same month the year prior.
The value of the nickel in hybrids and battery electric vehicles jumped to $856m, 15% above the previous record set in March last year when the London nickel market was in the
throes of a crisis and prices spiked.
Cobalt blues
The cobalt subindex dropped 28% however, after prices for the metal halved over the course of the year and declining cobalt use in batteries eroded growth in absolute deployment tonnage.
According to Adamas data in the second half of last year average cobalt use in EVs was flat as LFP batteries continue to grow in popularity.
In contrast, lithium use per vehicle jumped 17% as average battery pack sizes grew and the global EV sales mix reached 89% full battery-powered cars.
In December 2022, a record 57,980 tonnes of synthetic and natural graphite were deployed, up 48% year on year setting a new record in terms of value as prices consolidated around the early $800s per tonne.
While January 2023 saw the index halve from December, there is likely more weakness ahead given sharp decline in lithium prices in China in recent weeks, a ‘normalizing’ nickel price and ongoing troubles for cobalt both in terms of price and usage.
US, Japan strike deal on supply of minerals for EV batteries
The US agreed to boost cooperation with Japan on critical mineral supply chains and to expand access to tax breaks as President Joe Biden aims to counter China’s dominance of the electric vehicle battery sector.
Following the pact, EVs that use materials that have been collected or processed in Japan will be eligible for incentives under the US Inflation Reduction Act, Japanese Trade Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said Tuesday in Tokyo.
“This announcement is proof of President Biden’s commitment to building resilient and secure supply chains,” US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement.
“Japan is one of our most valued trading partners.”
The deal is similar to an agreement Washington has been negotiating with the European Union which would extend access to some of the as much as $369 billion in handouts and tax credits available over the next decade under the IRA, in areas including wind, solar and electric vehicles.
Under the deal, the US and Japan will also refrain from imposing export duties on critical minerals traded between the two nations and discuss how to approach “non-market policies and practices of non-parties affecting trade in critical minerals” — another veiled reference to China.
mining.com