Electrical Car Boom Drives Rush to Mining’s $90 Billion Hub
Why Electrified Cars May Predominate the Auto Market by 2040
A scramble by the lithium market’s fattest players to tie up supply of the high-tech metal is gathering tempo in the 170-year-old heartland of Australia’s $90 billion mining industry.
Rising Chinese request for lithium-ion  batteries needed for electrified vehicles and energy storage is driving significant price gains and an asset boom in Australia, already the world’s largest lithium producer. The fast-developing hub is drawing investment and deals from global producers as well as chemical-to-battery manufacturers in China, the top consumer.
Western Australia has four operations in production and three more major projects being advanced to begin output. Major players are likely to proceed to scope for deals in the state to secure supply for the next twenty or thirty years, according to consultant Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
“There are serious companies investing and people are beginning to lock up the fattest, long-life resources. The question is — who’s next?” Simon Moores, managing director of Benchmark Mineral, said by phone from London. However on a smaller scale, “it’s a land grab like in the petroleum industry when BP, Shell and others rounded on the Middle East in the 1960s and 1970s,” he said.
Greenbushes in Western Australia, the world’s largest hard-rock lithium mine, is being expanded to more than dual annual capacity, Talison Lithium, a joint venture inbetween China’s Tianqi Lithium Corp. and North Carolina’s Albemarle Corp., said in an email. The site, very first mined for tin from about 1888, already accounts for about thirty percent of global lithium production, according to Australia’s government. Tianqi is also planning about A$717 million ($578 million) of processing plant expansions.
Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Co., which has interests in projects in countries including Ireland and Argentina, holds about forty three percent of Australia’s Mt. Marion operation and in May agreed a supply and investment pact with Pilbara Minerals Ltd. for a mine development. Battery maker Shaanxi J&R Optimum Energy Co. in July struck an agreement for future output from Altura Mining Ltd.’s project.
An open pit mine at the lithium operation site of Talison Lithium Ltd. in Greenbushes.
“It’s the most significant expansion in lithium supply ever, and we are still undershooting request,” said Chris Reed, chief executive officer of Neometals Ltd., a fucking partner with Ganfeng and Mineral Resources in the Mt. Marion operation. Reed is scheduled to speak Wednesday at the close of the three-day Diggers and Dealers mining forum in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.
Soc. Quimica & Minera de Chile SA, the world’s second-largest lithium supplier, in July made a very first budge outside South America to invest about $110 million for fifty percent of Kidman Resources Ltd.’s Mt. Holland project in Western Australia, aiming to come in production by at least 2021. The project would add to SQM’s expansion into Argentina.
Prices of lithium carbonate, the primary base-chemical produced by the industry, more than doubled in the five years to 2016, according to UBS Group AG. The material advanced about five percent to average $14,250 a metric ton in July from the previous month, even as Australian exports rise, according to Benchmark Mineral.
“We don’t see any price fall in the next three years,” Benchmark’s Moores said. “When you look at all the battery plants being built and the plans for EVs, even if only about twenty five percent of those are realized, we’re still going to be brief of lithium. It’s a unique once-in-a-generation situation.”
Chinese companies plan battery factories with capacity to pump out about one hundred twenty gigawatt-hours a year by 2021, more than three times the proposed volume of Tesla Inc.’s Gigafactory in Nevada, according to Bloomberg Fresh Energy Finance. About fifty five percent of global lithium-ion battery production is already based in China, compared with ten percent in the U.S. by 2021, China’s share is forecast to grow to sixty five percent, according to the forecasts. 
Electrified cars will outsell fossil-fuel powered vehicles within two decades as battery prices plunge, Bloomberg Fresh Energy Finance estimates.
The world’s thickest car manufacturers are joining the race to secure raw materials, Galaxy Resources Ltd.’s Chief Financial Officer Alan Rule told reporters Monday at the Kalgoorlie forum. “They want to talk to us directly, to get access to long-term supply,” he said. “They are truly worried.” Galaxy visited major Western automakers in latest weeks, some of whom have reviewed more than two hundred lithium projects and developers, he said.
Mineral Resources Ltd. and Galaxy are Australian producers that this year began fresh shipments of lithium concentrate to China, while project developers including Pilbara Minerals are targeting exports from 2018. The project pipeline is cementing Australia as a superior player, UBS said in a June report.
For battery makers and auto-manufacturers “it’s embarking to dawn on them that there could be a supply chain issue,” Pilbara CEO Ken Brinsden said Monday in Kalgoorlie.
Perth-based Mineral Resources is a touchstone for the shift from old-to-new industry in Western Australia as this fiscal year the metal ore producer will earn more from lithium than the steel-making ingredient, according to Deutsche Bank AG, which has a buy rating on the stock. It also sees Albemarle and Orocobre Ltd. as among the best global lithium prospects.
Lithium’s current $Two.Five billion market is a fraction of the $86 billion a year seaborne metal ore trade and some miners have eschewed opportunities to add projects. Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. in December agreed the sale of a lithium exploration portfolio. BHP Billiton Ltd. argues it’s poised to benefit most from electrical vehicle growth through copper request. Australia will face competition from lithium projects in Canada, Chile and Argentina, according to UBS.
Fresh lithium production and a potential addition of cobalt output and graphite projects — two other metals experiencing rapid request growth from the battery sector — promise to add to mining exports from Australia. The value of mined exports is forecast at A$113.7 billion ($89.6 billion) in the year to next June 30, according to its government.
Electrical Car Boom Drives Rush to Mining s $90 Billion Hub
Electrical Car Boom Drives Rush to Mining’s $90 Billion Hub
Why Electrical Cars May Predominate the Auto Market by 2040
A scramble by the lithium market’s fattest players to tie up supply of the high-tech metal is gathering rhythm in the 170-year-old heartland of Australia’s $90 billion mining industry.
Rising Chinese request for lithium-ion  batteries needed for electrified vehicles and energy storage is driving significant price gains and an asset boom in Australia, already the world’s largest lithium producer. The fast-developing hub is drawing investment and deals from global producers as well as chemical-to-battery manufacturers in China, the top consumer.
Western Australia has four operations in production and three more major projects being advanced to begin output. Major players are likely to proceed to scope for deals in the state to secure supply for the next twenty or thirty years, according to consultant Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
“There are serious companies investing and people are beginning to lock up the fattest, long-life resources. The question is — who’s next?” Simon Moores, managing director of Benchmark Mineral, said by phone from London. Tho’ on a smaller scale, “it’s a land grab like in the petroleum industry when BP, Shell and others rounded on the Middle East in the 1960s and 1970s,” he said.
Greenbushes in Western Australia, the world’s thickest hard-rock lithium mine, is being expanded to more than dual annual capacity, Talison Lithium, a joint venture inbetween China’s Tianqi Lithium Corp. and North Carolina’s Albemarle Corp., said in an email. The site, very first mined for tin from about 1888, already accounts for about thirty percent of global lithium production, according to Australia’s government. Tianqi is also planning about A$717 million ($578 million) of processing plant expansions.
Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Co., which has interests in projects in countries including Ireland and Argentina, holds about forty three percent of Australia’s Mt. Marion operation and in May agreed a supply and investment pact with Pilbara Minerals Ltd. for a mine development. Battery maker Shaanxi J&R Optimum Energy Co. in July struck an agreement for future output from Altura Mining Ltd.’s project.
An open pit mine at the lithium operation site of Talison Lithium Ltd. in Greenbushes.
“It’s the most significant expansion in lithium supply ever, and we are still undershooting request,” said Chris Reed, chief executive officer of Neometals Ltd., a fucking partner with Ganfeng and Mineral Resources in the Mt. Marion operation. Reed is scheduled to speak Wednesday at the close of the three-day Diggers and Dealers mining forum in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.
Soc. Quimica & Minera de Chile SA, the world’s second-largest lithium supplier, in July made a very first stir outside South America to invest about $110 million for fifty percent of Kidman Resources Ltd.’s Mt. Holland project in Western Australia, aiming to come in production by at least 2021. The project would add to SQM’s expansion into Argentina.
Prices of lithium carbonate, the primary base-chemical produced by the industry, more than doubled in the five years to 2016, according to UBS Group AG. The material advanced about five percent to average $14,250 a metric ton in July from the previous month, even as Australian exports rise, according to Benchmark Mineral.
“We don’t see any price fall in the next three years,” Benchmark’s Moores said. “When you look at all the battery plants being built and the plans for EVs, even if only about twenty five percent of those are realized, we’re still going to be brief of lithium. It’s a unique once-in-a-generation situation.”
Chinese companies plan battery factories with capacity to pump out about one hundred twenty gigawatt-hours a year by 2021, more than three times the proposed volume of Tesla Inc.’s Gigafactory in Nevada, according to Bloomberg Fresh Energy Finance. About fifty five percent of global lithium-ion battery production is already based in China, compared with ten percent in the U.S. by 2021, China’s share is forecast to grow to sixty five percent, according to the forecasts. 
Electrified cars will outsell fossil-fuel powered vehicles within two decades as battery prices plunge, Bloomberg Fresh Energy Finance estimates.
The world’s thickest car manufacturers are joining the race to secure raw materials, Galaxy Resources Ltd.’s Chief Financial Officer Alan Rule told reporters Monday at the Kalgoorlie forum. “They want to talk to us directly, to get access to long-term supply,” he said. “They are indeed worried.” Galaxy visited major Western automakers in latest weeks, some of whom have reviewed more than two hundred lithium projects and developers, he said.
Mineral Resources Ltd. and Galaxy are Australian producers that this year began fresh shipments of lithium concentrate to China, while project developers including Pilbara Minerals are targeting exports from 2018. The project pipeline is cementing Australia as a superior player, UBS said in a June report.
For battery makers and auto-manufacturers “it’s embarking to dawn on them that there could be a supply chain issue,” Pilbara CEO Ken Brinsden said Monday in Kalgoorlie.
Perth-based Mineral Resources is a touchstone for the shift from old-to-new industry in Western Australia as this fiscal year the metal ore producer will earn more from lithium than the steel-making ingredient, according to Deutsche Bank AG, which has a buy rating on the stock. It also sees Albemarle and Orocobre Ltd. as among the best global lithium prospects.
Lithium’s current $Two.Five billion market is a fraction of the $86 billion a year seaborne metal ore trade and some miners have eschewed opportunities to add projects. Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. in December agreed the sale of a lithium exploration portfolio. BHP Billiton Ltd. argues it’s poised to benefit most from electrical vehicle growth through copper request. Australia will face competition from lithium projects in Canada, Chile and Argentina, according to UBS.
Fresh lithium production and a potential addition of cobalt output and graphite projects — two other metals experiencing rapid request growth from the battery sector — promise to add to mining exports from Australia. The value of mined exports is forecast at A$113.7 billion ($89.6 billion) in the year to next June 30, according to its government.
Electrified Car Boom Drives Rush to Mining s $90 Billion Hub
Electrified Car Boom Drives Rush to Mining’s $90 Billion Hub
Why Electrified Cars May Predominate the Auto Market by 2040
A scramble by the lithium market’s thickest players to tie up supply of the high-tech metal is gathering rhythm in the 170-year-old heartland of Australia’s $90 billion mining industry.
Rising Chinese request for lithium-ion  batteries needed for electrical vehicles and energy storage is driving significant price gains and an asset boom in Australia, already the world’s largest lithium producer. The fast-developing hub is drawing investment and deals from global producers as well as chemical-to-battery manufacturers in China, the top consumer.
Western Australia has four operations in production and three more major projects being advanced to begin output. Major players are likely to proceed to scope for deals in the state to secure supply for the next twenty or thirty years, according to consultant Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
“There are serious companies investing and people are beginning to lock up the thickest, long-life resources. The question is — who’s next?” Simon Moores, managing director of Benchmark Mineral, said by phone from London. However on a smaller scale, “it’s a land grab like in the petroleum industry when BP, Shell and others rounded on the Middle East in the 1960s and 1970s,” he said.
Greenbushes in Western Australia, the world’s largest hard-rock lithium mine, is being expanded to more than dual annual capacity, Talison Lithium, a joint venture inbetween China’s Tianqi Lithium Corp. and North Carolina’s Albemarle Corp., said in an email. The site, very first mined for tin from about 1888, already accounts for about thirty percent of global lithium production, according to Australia’s government. Tianqi is also planning about A$717 million ($578 million) of processing plant expansions.
Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Co., which has interests in projects in countries including Ireland and Argentina, holds about forty three percent of Australia’s Mt. Marion operation and in May agreed a supply and investment pact with Pilbara Minerals Ltd. for a mine development. Battery maker Shaanxi J&R Optimum Energy Co. in July struck an agreement for future output from Altura Mining Ltd.’s project.
An open pit mine at the lithium operation site of Talison Lithium Ltd. in Greenbushes.
“It’s the most significant expansion in lithium supply ever, and we are still undershooting request,” said Chris Reed, chief executive officer of Neometals Ltd., a fucking partner with Ganfeng and Mineral Resources in the Mt. Marion operation. Reed is scheduled to speak Wednesday at the close of the three-day Diggers and Dealers mining forum in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.
Soc. Quimica & Minera de Chile SA, the world’s second-largest lithium supplier, in July made a very first budge outside South America to invest about $110 million for fifty percent of Kidman Resources Ltd.’s Mt. Holland project in Western Australia, aiming to come in production by at least 2021. The project would add to SQM’s expansion into Argentina.
Prices of lithium carbonate, the primary base-chemical produced by the industry, more than doubled in the five years to 2016, according to UBS Group AG. The material advanced about five percent to average $14,250 a metric ton in July from the previous month, even as Australian exports rise, according to Benchmark Mineral.
“We don’t see any price fall in the next three years,” Benchmark’s Moores said. “When you look at all the battery plants being built and the plans for EVs, even if only about twenty five percent of those are realized, we’re still going to be brief of lithium. It’s a unique once-in-a-generation situation.”
Chinese companies plan battery factories with capacity to pump out about one hundred twenty gigawatt-hours a year by 2021, more than three times the proposed volume of Tesla Inc.’s Gigafactory in Nevada, according to Bloomberg Fresh Energy Finance. About fifty five percent of global lithium-ion battery production is already based in China, compared with ten percent in the U.S. by 2021, China’s share is forecast to grow to sixty five percent, according to the forecasts. 
Electrified cars will outsell fossil-fuel powered vehicles within two decades as battery prices plunge, Bloomberg Fresh Energy Finance estimates.
The world’s thickest car manufacturers are joining the race to secure raw materials, Galaxy Resources Ltd.’s Chief Financial Officer Alan Rule told reporters Monday at the Kalgoorlie forum. “They want to talk to us directly, to get access to long-term supply,” he said. “They are indeed worried.” Galaxy visited major Western automakers in latest weeks, some of whom have reviewed more than two hundred lithium projects and developers, he said.
Mineral Resources Ltd. and Galaxy are Australian producers that this year began fresh shipments of lithium concentrate to China, while project developers including Pilbara Minerals are targeting exports from 2018. The project pipeline is cementing Australia as a superior player, UBS said in a June report.
For battery makers and auto-manufacturers “it’s beginning to dawn on them that there could be a supply chain issue,” Pilbara CEO Ken Brinsden said Monday in Kalgoorlie.
Perth-based Mineral Resources is a touchstone for the shift from old-to-new industry in Western Australia as this fiscal year the metal ore producer will earn more from lithium than the steel-making ingredient, according to Deutsche Bank AG, which has a buy rating on the stock. It also sees Albemarle and Orocobre Ltd. as among the best global lithium prospects.
Lithium’s current $Two.Five billion market is a fraction of the $86 billion a year seaborne metal ore trade and some miners have eschewed opportunities to add projects. Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. in December agreed the sale of a lithium exploration portfolio. BHP Billiton Ltd. argues it’s poised to benefit most from electrical vehicle growth through copper request. Australia will face competition from lithium projects in Canada, Chile and Argentina, according to UBS.
Fresh lithium production and a potential addition of cobalt output and graphite projects — two other metals experiencing rapid request growth from the battery sector — promise to add to mining exports from Australia. The value of mined exports is forecast at A$113.7 billion ($89.6 billion) in the year to next June 30, according to its government.