Lithium mining stocks plummeted across the board. The news of the strike overseas may be the "culprit".

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SMM Sept. 16: since the opening of trading this morning, lithium mining, lithium batteries and other related concept plates have fallen sharply, and then continued to decline all the way. Lithium mining stocks have slumped across the line and staged a "limit of decline". By the end of the day, including Ganfeng lithium industry, Tianqi lithium industry, Rongjie shares, Tibet Everest and other stocks fell by the limit, the whole plate was gloomy.

The reason for this situation is naturally inextricably linked to an overseas news about the end of the strike. It is reported that on Wednesday local time, Abel, the world's largest lithium producer, said it had reached a labor contract agreement with unions at the Salar plant in Atacama Salt Lake, Chile, formally ending a month-long strike.

In August 2021, the "Albemarle Salar" union in Atacama Salt Lake went on strike after failing to reach an agreement with Yabao. According to statistics, the union has a total of 135 employees, accounting for "half" of the total staff of the Salar plant.

It is worth mentioning that during the strike, Abel has repeatedly said that the strike did not affect its lithium production in Chile, and in the statement announcing the end of the strike, Abel also mentioned again, although the previous strike did lead to a reduction in the amount of lithium-rich salt water pumped by the Salar plant. But it did not go to the La Negra chemical plant, the main chemical plant nearby, which is responsible for extracting and processing salt water into battery-grade lithium carbonate.

According to the statement, the company has signed a new 36-month contract with the Albemarle Salar union, workers will return to work immediately and production at the Salar plant will soon return to pre-strike levels.

As soon as the news came out, lithium electricity and lithium mining stocks fell across the board today, offsetting the second auction of spodumene concentrate by Pilbara, the main Australian lithium mine, which auctioned the spodumene concentrate to a historically high price, and the recent request of the Chilean Atacama Aboriginal Council to suspend the Chilean lithium mining company SQM's license for lithium mining in Atacama Salt Lake, or significantly reduce its operating scale. Until SQM can submit a regulatory acceptable environmental compliance plan and other good news to stimulate, set off a vigorous "limit wave".

But there is no doubt that the lithium plate as a medium-and long-term high prosperity plate, in the increasingly popular development of new energy vehicles today, the future is still worth looking forward to. And stimulated by the shortage of supply and the good news such as the second round of Pilbara spodumene concentrate auction of $2240 / ton, the industry mood is high, and battery-grade lithium carbonate has been "rising" in recent days. According to the spot quotation of SMM, as of Sept. 16, the price of domestic battery-grade lithium carbonate was 150 million yuan / ton, with an average price of 151500 yuan / ton, an increase of 35000 yuan / ton within the month, an increase of as much as 30%.

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Recent research by SMM shows that lithium salt prices have risen significantly this week, and there are few quotations from domestic mainstream manufacturers, with some trade and industrial carbon quotations rising to 185000 yuan / ton, while mainstream smelter prices are about 16-170000 yuan / ton, with little spot. The production expansion plan of some domestic iron and lithium manufacturers in the second half of the year may be delayed / stagnated due to the high cost of lithium price and the shortage of iron phosphate, and the main growth point of lithium carbonate demand in the second half of the year will be affected. "View details