Originally posted by Panda7
in the recent audio they said they will no longer be selling to the Li hydroxides plants in 2019, not sure exactly what this means in terms of product mix. I think they said spot sales to China represented 25% of total sales, so if the short term contracts are no longer going to China, where are they going ?
an excerpt from a recent Lithium article. Is spodumene to become the preferred feedstock for BG Lithium?
Additionally, we note that half of Orocobre’s sales come from technical-grade lithium carbonate, which is currently purchased as a feedstock by lithium hydroxide producers in China. During Orocobre’s conference call, management said the weakness in pricing was coming from the technical-grade product as a result of lower demand from lithium hydroxide producers, while also stating that battery-grade lithium carbonate prices were flat.In our view, lower technical-grade lithium carbonate prices are an indication of an evolving lithium hydroxide market. As spodumene production ramps up in Australia, lithium hydroxide can be made at a lower cost using high-grade spodumene as a feedstock over technical-grade lithium carbonate. As such, we expect prices for technical-grade lithium carbonate to fall to a level that would make lithium hydroxide production costs equivalent to those associated with the use of spodumene feedstock. We estimate this at $10,000 per metric ton.Seth Goldstein, CFA does not own shares in any of the securities mentioned above. Find out about Morningstar's editorial policies.