【SMM Analysis】Hydrometallurgy Recycling Market This Week: LCO Black Mass Payables and LFP Black Mass Prices Rebound

This week, the price of cobalt sulfate experienced a slight increase, while the price of nickel sulfate saw a minor decrease, and the price of lithium carbonate oscillated.

The price per lithium point for LFP (lithium iron phosphate) black mass fluctuated in tandem with lithium salt prices this week. As the procurement cycle for recycled materials from late November to early December concluded, coupled with significant recent volatility in lithium carbonate futures prices driven by capital flows and market sentiment, market purchasing became relatively cautious. However, upstream recycling companies, after observing the supply-demand dynamics and policy landscape for lithium carbonate, hold a relatively optimistic view on future prices. Although prices have been adjusted according to futures movements, the decline has been limited. Taking black mass from LFP battery electrode scraps as an example, the current price ranges from 3,600 to 3,750 RMB per lithium point. The average price remains unchanged from last week, with only minor adjustments at the high and low ends of the range.

For black mass from ternary battery scraps, the current recovery rate coefficients stand at 75.5–77% for nickel and cobalt, an increase of 0.25% week-on-week, while the lithium coefficient also rose slightly to 73–75%. This is primarily attributed to the continuous price increase in cobalt sulfate this week. Most companies currently hold relatively limited cobalt inventory. After exhausting older stock, they have been compelled to purchase new material from smelters, pushing prices upward. This trend was further supported by the strategic partnership agreement between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the United States announced on Monday, which boosted purchasing sentiment among domestic enterprises. The rising cost of cobalt sulfate is gradually being transmitted to the ternary and lithium cobalt oxide battery recycling sectors, leading to increases in both the recovery coefficients and prices for black mass from these materials.