Recently, the Hefei Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment officially accepted the environmental impact assessment application for the "Annual Processing of 75,000 mt of Lithium Battery Materials Recycling Project" submitted by a renewable resources enterprise in Anhui. According to the plan, the project is expected to construct three modern production workshops and supporting facilities, introduce advanced equipment such as crushers, vibrating screens, and grinding machines, and establish one battery cell crushing production line, three negative pole piece regeneration processing lines, and one positive pole piece regeneration treatment line.

The Environmental Protection Branch of Horqin Left Wing Rear Banner recently initiated a public participation announcement for the environmental impact assessment of a local environmental protection technology enterprise's lithium battery and waste electrical equipment resource utilization project. According to the plan, the project, located in the Industrial Park of Horqin Left Wing Rear Banner, will be implemented in three phases: Phase I involves the construction of a second-life application production line for lithium batteries with an annual processing capacity of 30,000 mt and a lithium battery crushing and sorting production line with an annual processing capacity of 20,000 mt; Phase II will add an annual recycling capacity of 20,000 mt for solar panels; Phase III is expected to achieve an annual resource utilization capacity of 20,000 mt for wind turbine blades.

Procurement volume in the market reached 30,200 mt in October, up approximately 7.30% MoM, showing an overall active trend. The main driver was sustained release of downstream demand: on one hand, most LFP battery hydrometallurgy recycling plants maintained high production amid a rebound in lithium carbonate prices, and some enterprises planned to launch or expand production, driving the volume of recycled lithium chemicals to around 8,500 mt in September, up about 12% MoM; on the other hand, ternary hydrometallurgy plants saw a significant increase in cobalt sulphate prices in early and mid-October due to supply-side impacts, while lithium carbonate performed well, further boosting procurement enthusiasm. This led to recycled nickel salt production reaching 5,580 mt in metal content (up about 6.29% MoM) and recycled cobalt salt production reaching 1,350 mt in metal content (up 2% MoM).

Progress on This Week's Recycling Incidents Was as Follows:

October 31 news: North China ports: South African high-iron ore at 29.4-30.1 yuan/mtu, up 0.34% WoW from last Friday; South African semi-carbonate ore at 34-34.5 yuan/mtu, flat WoW from last Tuesday; Gabonese ore at 39.6-40.4 yuan/mtu, flat WoW from last Friday; Australian lumps at 39.9-40.4 yuan/mtu, down 0.25% WoW from last Tuesday; South African medium-iron ore at 35.1-35.8 yuan/mtu, up 0.28% WoW from last Friday. South China ports: South African high-iron ore at 30.7-31.2 yuan/mtu, up 0.32% WoW from last Friday; South African semi-carbonate ore at 36.9-37.4 yuan/mtu, flat WoW from last Friday; Gabonese ore at 40.5-40.1 yuan/mtu, flat WoW from last Friday; Australian lumps at 40.1-40.8 yuan/mtu, down 0.25% WoW from last Friday; South African medium-iron ore at 36.5-37.2 yuan/mtu, up 0.27% WoW from last Friday. Overall, supply side provided direct support for price increases, while downstream acceptance of manganese ore still needs follow-up, and current manganese ore prices remain temporarily stable.

This week, prices for salt products including cobalt sulfate and nickel sulfate continued to rise, while lithium carbonate prices also increased due to solid demand and other fundamental factors. The upward movement in cobalt salts led to slight increases in the black mass coefficients for both ternary and lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) materials. However, as the pace of cobalt price increases moderated, the rate of growth for discount coefficients of cobalt and lithium also slowed.

This week, the prices of salt products such as cobalt sulfate and nickel sulfate remained stable, while the price of lithium carbonate also began to rise steadily due to solid demand and other fundamental factors. With the increase in lithium salts, the lithium coefficients for ternary and lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) black mass have seen slight increases, though the discount coefficients for nickel and cobalt remained stable for now. Meanwhile, the lithium point price for LFP black mass rose this week in line with the increase in lithium salt prices. Taking LFP electrode black mass as an example, the current price is 2,900–3,100 CNY per lithium point, up by 150 CNY per lithium point compared to the previous period.

In September 2025, China's total lithium carbonate imports amounted to approximately 19,597 mt, down 10% MoM and up 20% YoY. The average import price was about $8,625/mt, up 0.8% MoM from the August average.

Recycling Industry Events This Week (October. 27-31)