Blog Boom or Bust

BATTERY METALS: Boom or bust

Two years ago, the battery metals were the rage. 2022 Lithium was a rage, trading at a price of $41,708 a ton. Along with some new players most noticeably is or was Chile. The Andes, Atacama Desert salt flats and brine from which the new wave of lithium made its way down the Andes 4,000m (13,000ft) to global markets heading west across the Pacific Ocean of which China did dominate and still does dominate went from the mine to China. The next step from out of the mine, across the Pacific to the processing facilities in China.

Today the excitement is gone. The EV craze has gone from overdrive to hitting the brakes. An evolution, not revolution. Lithium is turning up everywhere. But now the problem, all the lithium that car and battery manufacturers had anticipated has been turned down. Where are the buyers, I don’t know?

Mines are being shuttered, factory lines have slowed, and now there’s too much lithium. It’s mid 2nd Quarter 2024, the selling price for lithium is 13,780 a ton. The share price of Albemarle the largest Lithium producer November of 2022 was $325, today the share price is $121. There’s a disconnect, next the details.