Customs data shows that China's spodumene ore imports in December increased compared to November, reaching 788.5 thousand physical tons, equivalent to approximately 78.5 thousand tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) (calculated by SMM based on statistical processing considering average grade and moisture content).
By source country, imports from Canada saw significant growth, reaching 33.5 thousand tons. Imports from Zimbabwe amounted to 132.2 thousand tons, a month-on-month increase of 19.85%. Imports from Mali arriving in December totaled 77.0 thousand tons, up 5.24% month-on-month. Influenced by high import volumes in November, spodumene concentrate imports from Australia saw a certain decline in December, reaching 309.5 thousand tons, a decrease of 27.18% month-on-month. Imports from Nigeria also experienced a slight adjustment, down to 80 thousand tons, a reduction of 13.12% compared to the previous month.
It is worth noting that in December, China imported lithium ore from Mongolia for the first time, with a total of 2 batches amounting to 22.5 thousand tons. The import unit price for both batches was USD 169.52 per ton.
Furthermore, based on SMM's screening and analysis, spodumene concentrate imports in December were approximately 628 thousand tons, accounting for 80% of the total ore imports. This represents a noticeable decline from the 93% share in November.
The latest customs data indicates that China imported 77.506 million tons of lithium ore in 2025. SMM analysis shows that the volume of spodumene concentrate imports increased by approximately 9% year-on-year. This growth was primarily driven by an increased export share from African sources and higher output from Australian mines.
(Note: The discrepancy in import volume data for certain countries, such as Australia, between the annual spodumene ore import chart and the annual spodumene concentrate import chart is mainly due to the continuous updating of import figures in customs data. Based on SMM's observation, the resulting annual variance in total spodumene volume is relatively small and does not significantly impact the analysis and judgment of the overall annual trend.)
Source: China Customs, compiled and analyzed by SMM
