08/02/2022
๐๐ฅ๐จ๐๐๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ซ๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐
$๐.๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ฌ
Surging electric vehicle sales have sent lithium prices skyrocketing to record levels amid โpanic buyingโ by the worldโs battery manufacturers.
Australian miners are set to cash in on the soaring prices, despite production slowdowns by Covid-19 shutdowns and labour shortages.
Prices for lithium salts, lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, rose by between 400-500 % last year, and show no signs of slowing down as supplies struggle to keep up with demand.
Lithium-rich spodumene concentrate, an unrefined ore mined in Australia, is up roughly 480 % since the start of last year and nearly six times higher than September 2020 when the current cycle turned positive.
Western Australia is the worldโs leading producer of spodumene, but miners say Covid-19 restrictions have hampered their ability to ramp up production to fully take advantage of the price boom.
The joint owners of the giant Greenbushes lithium mine in Western Australiaโs South West are planning a $1.4 billion expansion, regulatory filings in Hong Kong have revealed.
The new investment will result in a near doubling of production volumes at Greenbushes, which is already the worldโs largest producer of lithium-bearing spodumene concentrate.
Source : News.com.au