[Lithium Battery: New Ultra-Fast Charging Battery Industrialization Project To Be Launched In Zaozhuang, Shandong]

2025 annual reports show that companies with captive phosphate rock (BATIAN, Chuanjinnuo, Xingfa) posted profit growth of 122%-158%, while those relying on purchased raw materials (LiuGuo Chemical lost RMB 456 million, Lubei Chemical profit fell 85%) struggled. The pattern of "who owns mines, owns profits" is entrenched.

Sandile Zungu, a South African businessman, is leading an investment consortium together with his firm Zungu Investments and former Glencore nickel trading executive Jason Kluk to acquire a 54.17% controlling stake held by Sumitomo Corporation in the Ambatovy nickel-cobalt project in Madagascar. Sumitomo has decided to exit the project after incurring cumulative losses of approximately $3 billion over the past 20 years and expects to record a one-off loss of about $445 million from the transaction, while retaining certain offtake rights. Sumitomo stated that it is confident the new shareholder structure, formed by Essenwood Partners and Zungu Investments, has the necessary technical and commercial expertise to operate the large-scale nickel-cobalt project profitably.

Amid sustained demand growth, India plans to build a strategic reserve of critical minerals including lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper and rare earths. The stockpile will be sized to cover six months of domestic consumption, aiming to guard against risks of global supply disruptions and sharp raw material price volatility. Led by India’s Ministry of Mines and Ministry of Heavy Industries, the reserve covers key raw materials essential for new energy vehicles, energy storage and the electronics sector, fields where India currently relies heavily on imports. At present, the United States, China, South Korea and other countries have already established strategic reserve systems for critical minerals.