- Lithium prices in May were mostly unchanged, except some fall in spodumene prices.
- Market news: Lithium-ion battery price falls are forecast to continue.
- Company news: Albemarle/Tianqi Greenbushes lithium mine receives expansion approval.
Welcome to the May 2019 edition of the lithium miner news. This past month saw lithium prices mostly unchanged, except some slight fall in spodumene prices. May was a busy month for lithium-ion battery news. I stumbled upon a 2018 Clean Technica report saying $100/kWh Tesla battery packs expected in 2020. Wow! At that price an EV is competitive with an ICE vehicle. Last month Bloomberg had the EV/ICE price parity from 2022, which matches my forecast. Bloomberg New Energy Finance also put out an excellent report with their 2019 EV Outlook. The lithium miners had a good month with good results from the producers and continued progress of the near term producers.
Lithium spot and contract price news
During May, 99% lithium carbonate China spot prices were up 0.87%. Spodumene (5% min) prices were down 2.46%.
Fastmarkets (formerly Metal Bulletin) reports 99.5% lithium carbonate battery grade spot prices cif China, Japan & Korea of US$11.50-13.00/kg (11,500-13,000/t), and min 56.5% lithium hydroxide battery grade spot prices cif China, Japan & Korea of US$15-16.00/kg (15-16,000/t). China lithium spodumene prices are USD 600-700/tonne.
Lithium price chart (Out of date now, but still not far off current prices)
Source: Lithium Americas February presentation
The charts below courtesy of Fastmarkets show Lithium prices have stabilized after falling in H2 2018. Spodumene prices did weaken recently.
Source: seekingalpha
