Battery metal prices collapse on supply glut, cool Chinese EV demand

afr.com:

Prices for key battery metals required for the clean energy transition – such as lithium and nickel – have collapsed since the start of the year amid a supply glut and Chinese consumers reducing demand for electric vehicles.

The price of lithium, Australia’s sixth most valuable mining export, has fallen 30 per cent in a fortnight and has plunged 63 per cent since the start of the year.

The collapse in price prompted Rio Tinto to hint earlier this week that the three-year boom in lithium prices could be coming to an end. But the mining giant is still betting predicted supply shortages will ensure strong “market fundamentals” for the battery mineral longer term.

The price of lithium has fallen 30 per cent in a fortnight. New York Times

Australia’s billionaire mining magnates appear to agree. Despite the collapse in price, The richest Australian, Gina Rinehart, and billionaire lithium mining pioneer, Chris Ellison, are buying up the country’s battery-metal assets.

But jockeying for lithium projects blew up spectacularly on Monday when New York-listed Albemarle abandoned its $6.6 billion bid for Liontown Resources after Ms Rinehart bought up a 19.9 per cent stake in the lithium hopeful. Liontown is now licking its wounds as it scrambled to secure a $1.18 billion funding package on Thursday night and suffered a 32 per cent collapse in its share price on Friday.

Lithium prices have soared to record levels in the past three years as carbon-conscious government stimulus underwrote strong demand for the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles. Australia mines about 53 per cent of the world’s supply of lithium, virtually all of which is sold to China.

The surge in demand came as lithium miners struggled to recover