[SMM Weekly Review] The transaction coefficient in the disassembly recycling market continued to decline this week (June 16-19, 2025)

SMM News on June 19:

Hydrometallurgy recycling situation this week:

Recycling: This week, lithium chemical prices fluctuated, while prices of cobalt salt, nickel salt, and other products continued to decline. Coefficients for ternary and LCO black mass also remained on a downward trend this week. For LFP pole piece black mass, the prices per % lithium were 2,200-2,300 yuan/mtu, and for LFP battery black mass, they were 2,000-2,150 yuan/mtu. Taking ternary black mass as an example: Currently, the nickel-cobalt coefficient for ternary pole piece black mass is 72-74%, and the lithium coefficient is 69-72%. For ternary battery black mass, the nickel-cobalt coefficient is 70-72%. On the demand side, most ternary and LFP hydrometallurgy plants maintained basically stable procurement volumes this month, only consuming basic inventory. Due to the market's pessimistic outlook on subsequent lithium chemical prices, they were cautious in purchasing black mass, and market transactions remained sluggish. On the supply side, the psychological selling prices of grinding mills and traders loosened somewhat due to the continuous decline in salt prices and the sentiment surrounding it. Black mass prices basically followed the continuous price reductions of salt, and market transactions were sluggish. On the cost side, currently, except for leading integrated hydrometallurgy plants, the profits of most hydrometallurgy plants remain below the surplus line, especially LFP hydrometallurgy plants, which are greatly affected by the decline in lithium chemical prices. The profits of grinding mills are slightly better than those of hydrometallurgy, but the profits of some small and medium-sized grinding mills continue to be inverted.

SMM New Energy Research Team

Wang Cong 021-51666838

Ma Rui 021-51595780

Feng Disheng 021-51666714

Lv Yanlin 021-20707875

Zhou Zhicheng 021-51666711