The Third Auction of Lithium Concentrate at Pilbara Minerals Hit a Record High! Lithium Carbonate Costs Rose to 172,500 yuan/mt

SHANGHAI, Oct 26 (SMM) – Pilbara Minerals concluded its third auction at a closing price of $2,350/dmt for spodumene concentrate cargo, up 5% from last auction.  The market estimate is $2,500-2,800/mt. The first and second auction price stood at $1,250 and $2,240/mt respectively.

The auction volume is 10,000 mt, with the grade being 5.2%-5.5%. Lithium carbonate costs rose to 172,500 yuan/mt. SMM data showed that the average price of domestic battery-grade lithium carbonate stood at 192,500 yuan/mt as of October 26, an increase of 263.2% from early 2021.
Lithium carbonate supply is likely to tighten in November-December amid rising demand for LFP and the reduction in winter supply in Qinghai. Therefore, its prices are expected to trend higher.

Zangge Holding, which produces battery-grade lithium carbonate, also stated that the low temperature will have a certain impact on the company's lithium salt production, and the output will be reduced by about 30-40%.

The average spot price of spodumene concentrate (6%, CIF China) stood at $1,215/mt, up $797.5/mt from early 2021.
The current inventory of spodumene concentrate in China continued to ship out. The order price of spodumene concentrate in Q4 is expected to rise to around $1,500/mt. The profits at smelters are likely to shrink.