A Spodumene Concentrate Project with An Annual Output of 726,000 mt Indirectly Owned by Ganfeng Lithium Starts Construction!

SHANGHAI, Jun 6 (SMM) - According to the latest media news, Mali's Minister of Mines, Energy and Water Lamine Seydou Traoré said a few days ago that the Goulamina lithium mine project in southern Mali had officially started construction on June 3. It is reported that the mine has a mine life of more than 20 years and will make Mali the third largest lithium producer in the world.

According to media sources, the Gulamina lithium mine is located in the southern region of Mali, Africa, with an area of 100 square kilometres. The total explored ore resource currently amounts to 108.5 million mt, corresponding to a total of approximately 3.89 million mt LCE at an average lithium oxide grade of 1.45%. In addition, according to the project feasibility study dated December 2021, the Goulamina project may produce an average of 726,000 mt of spodumene concentrate per year for at least 21 years of mine life, with peak production even expected to reach 880,000 mt per year.

It is worth mentioning that the well-known domestic mining giant Ganfeng Lithium also indirectly holds a 50% stake in the mine. And stimulated by the above-mentioned news, intraday Ganfeng Lithium stock soared after opening, and once recorded a gain of more than 9%, close to the daily limit up.

In addition, with the improvement of the pandemic situation in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the domestic terminal demand has picked up a little bit, according to SMM research.  The production schedules of cathode active material factories that focus on LFP increased, and the new production lines of non-LFP material manufacturers are about to be put into production, generating more inquires. As such, the overall demand has revived, and lithium salt prices ushered in a new round of increase.

According to SMM Prices, domestic battery-grade lithium carbonate rose for the second consecutive week last week. As of June 6, domestic battery-grade lithium carbonate spot prices were 454,000-473,000 yuan/mt, with the average price at 463,500 yuan/mt, up 2,000 yuan/mt from the previous low of 461,500 yuan/mt.

SMM also discovered that both inquiries and transaction of lithium carbonate increased recently, and some small and medium-sized factories purchased with high prices on rigid demand. As such, upstream lithium salt plants raised their offers. Specifically speaking, large factories were more conservative in hiking the prices, while small ones were more aggressive with optimistic outlook. Downstream large-sized material factories restocked steadily, and the value of single transactions increased from a week ago. It is expected that the prices will rise with the improving of demand.

For spodumene concentrate, according to SMM Prices, intraday price (6%, CIF China) rose $15/mt to the range of $4,720-4,900/mt, with the average at $4,810/mt.