The largest lithium extraction project from brine in China officially produces 20,000 tons of battery-grade lithium carbonate per year.

On August 17, according to relevant reports, Qinghai Salt Lake Fozhao Lanke Lithium Industry Co., Ltd. (Lanke Lithium Industry), the largest brine lithium extraction project in China, has basically completed the 20,000 tons / year battery-grade lithium carbonate project. at present, it has officially entered the stage of trial production.

It is understood that the project was established for the record in December 2017, with a total investment of 3.132 billion yuan, and construction began on April 18, 2018.

The construction content of the project mainly includes adsorption lithium extraction tower area and upstream equipment (salt field and storage tank), nanofiltration reverse osmosis, lithium precipitation, adsorbent synthesis and other devices, and its supporting auxiliary production projects, public works projects (natural gas boiler, air pressure station, circulating water station, chilled water station, general substation, etc.), administrative service facilities, etc.

After the completion of the project, it can achieve an annual production capacity of 20,000 tons of battery-grade lithium carbonate and an annual production capacity of 30,000 tons of lithium carbonate.

Up to now, the project has completed 10,000 tons of lithium carbonate per year, realizing industrial production, and is expected to reach a capacity of 30,000 tons after the completion of the 20,000 tons / year battery-grade lithium carbonate project.

The extraction of lithium from brine is profiteering.

According to the half-year quarter released by 600499.SH, a listed company that shares in Lanke Lithium, in the first half of this year, Lanke Lithium produced 8466 tons of lithium carbonate products and sold 7435 tons of lithium carbonate products, achieving an operating income of about 507 million yuan and a net profit of about 234 million yuan, of which Koda Manufacturing confirmed investment income of about 114 million yuan.

As can be seen from the above financial data, the operating income of 507 million yuan can be achieved by selling 7435 tons of lithium carbonate products, and it can be calculated that the average selling price of Lanke lithium carbonate products in the first half of this year is 68200 yuan / ton.

The net profit of 234 million yuan can be obtained from the operating income of 507 million yuan. The cost of lithium carbonate products is about 35500 yuan / ton, and the profit margin is as high as 46.15%.

According to the information from SMM, the price range of domestic battery-grade lithium carbonate on the market is 95000 yuan / ton-98000 yuan / ton, with an average price of 96500 yuan / ton. Judging from the trend, the price of lithium carbonate rose by 1000 yuan / ton on the same day.

When 68200 yuan / ton, the profit margin of lithium carbonate products has reached 46.15%, if the price of 96500 yuan / ton, then its profit margin will be as high as 63%.

It should also be noted that the price of lithium carbonate is currently on the rise, and after the large-scale production and technology optimization of Lanke lithium industry, the cost will be further reduced!

Comparison of four Lithium extraction Technologies

At present, there are four kinds of lithium extraction technologies in the market, namely, lithium extraction from spodumene, lithium extraction from mica, lithium extraction from clay, and lithium extraction from brine.

First of all, let's look at the extraction of lithium from spodumene. At present, the ore method is relatively mature, the main cost lies in the procurement of raw materials, and the direct processing cost is lower than that of brine, while the procurement of raw materials restricts the profit margin of lithium extraction from spodumene. Of course, companies with lithium mines have the greatest advantage.

Secondly, look at the extraction of lithium from mica. Because the grade of lithium mica is generally lower than that of spodumene, it is more difficult to extract lithium than spodumene. Lithium extraction from mica generally uses sulfate method, and lithium mica + sodium sulfate + calcium sulfate + a small amount of potassium sulfate is calcined, which is difficult.

Once again, look at the extraction of lithium from clay. This lithium extraction method has not been industrialized at present, and in principle, there are three methods: sulfuric acid method (high impurity content, which will have a great impact on the environment), sulfate method (similar to mica lithium extraction method, the leaching rate of lithium is about 95%) and pressure cooking (the yield is relatively high but the cost is high).

Finally, let's see how to extract lithium from brine. The low cost of brine is a great advantage, and its processing cost is basically the complete cost. At present, lithium extraction from brine can also achieve high quality products, which can be achieved by many domestic enterprises.

This shows the development space of extracting lithium from brine.

About Lanke Lithium Industry

According to the data from the enterprise, Lanke Lithium Industry was established in March 2007, with a registered capital of 343.3 million yuan, mainly engaged in lithium carbonate products, and also engaged in the research, development, production and consultation of lithium series products such as lithium chloride, lithium hydroxide, lithium metal, lithium magnesium alloy and so on.

Lanke Lithium Industry now has an annual output of 30,000 tons of high-purity and high-quality lithium carbonate equipment. As a rising star in the domestic lithium industry, Lanke Lithium Industry has significant resource advantages and strong market competitiveness.

Market data show that Salt Lake (000792.SZ) ultimately benefits 51.42% of Lanke Lithium, while Koda Manufacturing (600499.SH) holds 48.58% of Lanke Lithium through its wholly-owned subsidiary Qinghai Koda Lithium Co., Ltd., and Qinghai Weili New Energy Materials Co., Ltd., a holding subsidiary.