Hi @findinggems. You don't need to answer to trolls, use the ignore function. Trolls don't add to discussions, they only sponge or post misinformation. They do so over many companies and contradict themselves all the time.
For those that want to learn, sc5-6. Only means the percentage of lithium in the spodumene, not the purity.
Spodumene is only a concentrate.
6% spodumene, means there is 20% more lithium in the concentrate than there is in 5% spodumene. The purity of the lithium determine the end use and price premium.
5.8% spodumene price can be higher than 6.1% spod if the purity is high. 6% spodumene can get a low price or rejected if the purity is low.
99.5% carbonate is not battery grade unless the remaining percentage purity is acceptable for making batteries.
Hydroxide demand a premium price because its specific for battery use.
China spot price represent 5% of world market. This is for producers that do not have contract supply. Many produce below specification products. The small, below specification converters are struggling, not the majors. They don't have fundings. They sell whatever is produced at whatever price they can get. The Chinese govt want to stop supporting these small cheap and low quality producers. The spot price fell because no body wanted to buy from these small producers.
MS and Mcbank use these struggling producers for their false reality reports and many retailers have accepted the story and sold at a loss.
The majors like gangfeng can't get enough spodumene supply from Australian miners.
Which Australian company is producing the oversupply? So far no one have posted the name and volume.
Why did Tianqi pay $4bil for a percentage of Sqm when they could have bought on spot? There's no supply in china, Simple.
The reason all lithium producers expect higher prices is not only due to demand but higher quality LCE. Higher quality LCE require higher processing cost. Auto producers have warranty on their batteries. The batteries need to have high quality LCE so prices have to rise. World standard and not Chinese local standard or no one will buy.
SDV can produce the lowest cost carbonate because of its high purity.
Low quality carbonate require extra cost to turn into battery grade therefore lower selling price, nothing to do with oversupply.
