Lithium turned bullish again. This guy is flying, listed on LSE with not tremendous turnover but leapt 32% overnight.
You can't, no such thing, but it may be coming. https://investingnews.com/daily/res...esting/lme-closer-launching-lithium-contract/ There are quite a number of pure play lithium stocks listed on NYSE & ASX, a couple on TSE.
Aug 2, 2019 — 5.49pm https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/born-again-bhp-nickel-unit-eyes-battery-market-20190802-p52d62 BHP has given a downbeat view on lithium as it pushes ahead with development of a new nickel sulphate plant aimed at meeting what it predicts will be a "profound" increase in demand from the battery sector. The company's born-again nickel division was on the chopping block until recently, but in May, chief executive Andrew Mackenzie said it was back in favour because it afforded extra exposure to the battery boom. BHP Nickel West asset president Eddy Haegel revealed on Friday that the boss's backing for nickel came after the company had considered cobalt and lithium options and opted to pass on them. "We did a review of all the battery materials, nickel, cobalt, lithium," he said. Mr Haegel said it was no great surprise BHP was not attracted to cobalt, given the lion's share of global supply came out of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the company was "not in a hurry" to invest. In the case of lithium, Mr Haegel said BHP felt there was a lot of it in the world and it would struggle over time to attract the same price premiums as nickel. "It is a very widely available mineral," he said. "There will be periods of times when supply and demand don’t naturally match but we anticipate that there will be no sustainable premium in lithium. That is our view. "That is not the case with nickel. We think in the medium to longer term the margin will be sticky for nickel and it is an attractive commodity." Mr Haegel rejected suggestions BHP might run into the same problem as some lithium producers, who have found customer demand not increasing as quickly as forecast. As recently as 2015, BHP Nickel West was selling none of the nickel metal it produces in briquette and powder form at its Kwinana refinery south of Perth to the battery sector, with the market dominated by stainless steel makers. Now, more than 80 per cent of its annual 75,000 tonnes production at Kwinana goes to battery-sector customers in Japan, South Korea and China. Mr Haegel said some off-take contracts were in place for nickel sulphate once the plant started production, but did not give details. However, he said BHP did not expect to have any trouble finding buyers for nickel sulphate as the new plant ramped up to first-stage capacity of 100,000 tonnes a year. "The rate of growth is profound – we are going to be talking about millions of tonnes of sulphate in the not too distant future," he said. Nickel West said the cost of the new plant, effectively a bolt-on to the refinery at Kwinana that has been in operation since 1970, had blown out from $US43 million ($63.2 million) but would not say by how much. The company has flagged plans for a second stage that would double production to 200,000 tonnes a year. Mr Haegel said the site could accommodate a plant producing 300,000 tonnes a year and be developed in 50,000 tonne stages. The first stage of the plant is scheduled to begin production in the second half of next year. Mr Haegel said BHP remained interested in producing cathode precursors for the battery sector as well as nickel sulphate, but admitted those plans had been stalled by other factors, including a fire at the Kalgoorlie nickel smelter in September. The smelter fire, another blaze at the Spence copper operations in Chile and a train wreck at the Pilbara iron ore operations were some of the key factors cited by BHP top brass in cutting incentive payments to employees across the company's global operations.
Lithium giant Albemarle has slashed its Australian investment plans by $US1.5 billion ($2.2 billion) in the latest sign that the local lithium boom has slowed. The US company has reduced the number of lithium hydroxide processing "trains" it plans to build in Australia from seven to two, but Albemarle insisted on Friday the move was more a response to shareholder demands for free cash flow, than a response to weak lithium markets. The changes will see Albemarle spend less at Kemerton in Australia's south-west, while axing altogether plans to build lithium hydroxide processing trains in Australia's north-west in partnership with Mineral Resources (MinRes). The step back from building processing facilities in the north-west was hinted at last week, when Albemarle and MinRes revised the agreement for Albemarle to buy a stake in MinRes' Wodgina lithium mine. That revision saw Albemarle take a larger stake in Wodgina, in exchange for giving MinRes a stake in Albemarle's Kemerton lithium hydroxide processing trains. But on Friday Albemarle revealed the Wodgina revision was part of a grander plan to reduce its investment in Australia over the next five years by $US1.5 billion. Albemarle had originally planned to build two lithium hydroxide processing "trains'' at Kemerton by 2021, with those trains each able to produce up to 25,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide a year, consuming lithium-rich spodumene rock from the Greenbushes mine Albemarle jointly owns with China's Tianqi. The original plan stated that a third train of equal size would be built at Kemerton by 2022, and only after completion of that third train would Albemarle pivot to start building two processing trains in partnership with MinRes at Wodgina, with the Wodgina trains also capable of producing 25,000 tonnes per year each. The original plan stated that a fourth and fifth train would be built at Kemerton after completion of the Wodgina trains, and between the two sites there would be capacity to produce 175,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide per year from seven trains. 'Still bullish on demand' But the new plan outlined on Friday envisages just two trains at Kemerton, with Albemarle owning 60 per cent of the output, and no trains at Wodgina. The new plan means Albemarle and MinRes will be collectively capable of producing 50,000 tonnes per year of lithium hydroxide from Australia, rather than 175,000 tonnes per year, although Albemarle said it retained the right to revive some of the investment if prices warranted it. Tawana boss Mark Calderwood wrote the book on lithium in Australia long before it was fashionable. The reduced spending is part of Albemarle's plan to be free cash flow positive sooner, with the company declaring it would reach that milestone by 2021 under the new, reduced spending plan. ''We're pivoting our strategy to address the major concern we hear from our shareholders, which is when are you going to be free cash flow positive,'' said Albemarle boss Luke Kissam. ''You should not view this in any way that we don't believe demand is still going to be where it is, we're still bullish on demand.'' Mr Kissam said the spending cuts were not a comment on Australia's attractiveness as an investment destination, even though he conceded costs were rising in the Western Australian mining sector. "It doesn't have anything to do with Australia, although I will say it is clear if you're going to build out an asset in China versus your going to build an asset in Australia, you've got a much higher capital intensity in Australia," he said. "But what we're delaying is simply what we had on the drawing board; we are taking that capacity out and you ought not read anything more than that into it." Georgia Kerr, a third year Mining Engineering student from the Western Australian School of Mines, says mining companies are signing up her classmates. Asked whether the reduced lithium hydroxide processing capacity would mean Albemarle would be more exposed to lower margin lithium products, such as the lithium-rich spodumene concentrate produced at its Australian mines, Mr Kissam said Albemarle may choose to stockpile mined product, rather than sell it. "I am not saying today that we are going to sell it. We are not going to be more exposed to spodumene rock, we are not going to sell it if there is not a market for it,'' he said. "We will discuss with Mineral Resources what the best approach is to take on the spodumene rock from that." Spodumene concentrate is more readily available than battery-grade lithium hydroxide, and the latter is considered to be the higher margin product. https://www.afr.com/companies/minin...s-australian-investment-plans-20190809-p52ff0
Well, we have learned something about evil mouse. In the "specialty market", He is as passionate about lithium metal as I am about live cattle.
Demand For EV Cars Now A Problem:" Global Lithium Bust Underway As Prices Collapse A new report from Bloomberg shows how the glut in lithium supply could suggest the electric car boom is over for now. There was once a time when lithium carbonate spot prices soared higher, all with increasing demand from electric car companies. This all ended in the late 4Q17 when the global economy entered into a cyclical downturn. In the last 15 months, lithium spot prices have been halved. The result of the glut is a combination of factors, including decreasing electric car demand from China, and Australia opening up six new lithium mines. Lithium prices fell -31% in 15 months, and with no confirmation of a bottom, could retest 2016 lows in the coming quarters. No one knows when prices will stabilize. This comes at a time when Australian lithium production could increase by almost a quarter over the next two years, plus the second-largest producer in Chile is expected to double output by 2023/24. Chile's SQM has seen 2Q19 sales collapse by half, to $70.2m, due to lower spot prices. And in China, Tianqi Lithium, the country's largest producer, said profits in 1H19 crashed 85% YoY. Macquarie Capital analyst Vivienne Lloyd wrote a recent note explaining how the electric car industry was slowing, "inferring that on top of excess supply [of lithium], demand [for EVs] is now a problem." Despite the price rout, there's some demand coming from Europe where new electric cars are being rolled out. Tianqi Lithium said the rapid investment into the lithium industry over the last five years was "returning to normal" and that uncompetitive producers would then be "eliminated:" basically describing a bust cycle is underway in the space. The short term view is that global electric vehicle demand continues to wane across the world, forcing a further decline in spot prices that could trigger a larger bust on the producer side of the market in 2020. With that being said, lithium spot prices overlaid with E-mini S&P 500 futures could be a predictor of where markets are headed next: https://www.zerohedge.com/technolog...-global-lithium-bust-underway-prices-collapse
MinRes reaps $US1.3 billion for stake in mothballed lithium mine https://www.afr.com/companies/minin...ke-in-mothballed-lithium-mine-20191101-p536h2 Brad ThompsonReporter Nov 1, 2019 — 1.18pm The future of one of Australia’s biggest lithium projects is under a cloud after it was mothballed on the same day US battery metals giant Albemarle finalised a deal to hand Chris Ellison-led Mineral Resources $US1.3 billion ($1.89 billion) for a controlling stake. Albemarle and MinRes, now officially 60-40 joint venture partners, have put the Wodgina project into care and maintenance indefinitely in the latest sign of how the lithium bubble has burst in the 12 months since Albemarle first agreed to buy into the West Australian mine. The shutdown was announced on Friday as MinRes completed a deal where Albemarle paid $US820 million ($1.19 billion) in cash for its stake in Wodgina and also handed over a 40 per cent stake in the first stage of its $US1.2 billion lithium hydroxide processing plant under construction at Kemerton, in WA’s south-west. Albemarle is set to supply the Kemerton plant from the nearby Greenbushes mine it owns in partnership with China’s Tianqi. It is now unclear if Wodgina, in WA’s Pilbara region and about 1800 kilometres north of Kemerton by road, will ever supply the hydroxide plant. Albemarle said the Wodgina mine would remain idle until demand for spodumene warranted a re-start. Chief executive Luke Kissam defended the Albemarle decision to invest in Wodgina, saying “we are even more confident (now) that our investment will produce substantial, long-term value” despite the “prudent decision” to idle production. Mineral Resources said the decision to mothball the Wodgina project reflected challenging global lithium market conditions. Mr Ellison said the joint venture entity, known as MARBL Lithium, had made a tough but right decision. “Given the current challenging market conditions for lithium, the MARBL Lithium joint venture believes there is more value to be delivered in the long term by placing Wodgina on care and maintenance now,” he said in an ASX statement. Mr Ellison said the joint venture would regularly review market conditions and remained "confident in lithium’s long-term positive fundamentals". Albemarle originally agreed to pay $US1.1 billion for a 50 per cent stake in Wodgina last November but the deal was revised in August to give the New York Stock Exchange-listed company a 60 per cent stake and MinRes exposure to lithium hydroxide production. Albemarle said the Kemerton plant, with capacity to produce 50,000 tonnes a year of hydroxide, was still scheduled to be commissioned in stages in the first half of 2021. However, it is backtracking on earlier talk of doubling capacity to 100,000 tonnes in the future. “The timing and location of any further lithium hydroxide conversion capacity that may be developed by the joint venture will be based on market demand and will be funded 60-40 by Albemarle and MinRes,” Albemarle said. The latest blow in the lithium sector comes after production cuts at Galaxy's Mt Cattlin mine announced last week, September production cuts at Pilbara Minerals’ Pilgangoora mine, and with the Bald Hills mine in receivership. In September, Tianqi revealed it had put on hold plans to complete a second stage of Australia’s first lithium hydroxide plant at Kwinana, south of Perth. Wesfarmers, understood to have been the underbidder to Albemarle for a stake in Wodgina, is pushing ahead with plans to build a similar plant a few hundred metres away in partnership with Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM), which has Tianqi as a 24 per cent shareholder.
Albemarle warns of 'challenging' lithium market through next year Ernest Scheyder https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ithium-market-through-next-year-idUSKBN1XH24U (Reuters) - Albemarle Corp (ALB.N), the world’s largest lithium producer, warned on Thursday that prices for the battery metal are down nearly a third in the past year and that the industry has two to three times more supply than needed. It was the latest lightning bolt to strike the fast-growing industry, which directly supplies the building blocks for electric vehicle batteries. Industry rival Livent Corp (LTHM.N) warned on Wednesday of “difficult” market conditions. Despite the aggressive growth of the electric vehicle market, lithium producers are in a nightmare of their own making by having processed too much of the white metal, too fast. “We are and will be dealing with the challenging market conditions for the next 12 to 18 months,” Albemarle Chief Executive Officer Luke Kissam told investors on a conference call. “There’s an oversupply in the market today.” Charlotte, North Carolina-based Albemarle has delayed construction plans for about 125,000 tonnes of additional lithium processing capacity, part of a plan to be cash flow-positive within two years. The company said late on Wednesday it would launch a $100 million cost savings plan after it cut its sales and profit forecasts for the year. Asked by investors when the cost cutting would start, Kissam said it was not yet clear and promised answers at the company’s annual investor day, planned for early December. Despite the challenging market, Albemarle has no problems honoring existing contracts and is able to boost production should market conditions improve, Kissam said. However, the company is in active negotiations with existing customers on long-term contracts about price, volume, timing and other facets, Kissam said, talks that could ultimately prove favorable for those customers. “Rest assured that we understand the value we bring to the supply chain, and we intend to capture our fair share in these discussions,” Kissam said. He noted, though, that Albemarle expects its lithium unit’s financial metrics to drop sequentially in 2020. In Chile, which has been experiencing social unrest in recent weeks, Albemarle’s La Negra lithium plant has not run as well as the company had hoped, Eric Norris, president of the company’s lithium global business unit, said on the call. The plant is producing about 38,000 tonnes of lithium, about 2,000 tonnes less than expected. The unrest has reduced Chilean production by about 500 tonnes but is not expected to have a material impact on annual results, the company said. “At this time, our plants are operational and shipments are moving on schedule,” Chief Financial Officer Scott Tozier told investors.
Lithium in the dogbox a long time, over 2 years, can't go on forever can it? There is no futures or even a Lithium Indice that I'm aware of so I track besides a number of stocks the ETF 'LIT'. Could be about to turn, just a tad early yet to determine imo.