This week, salt products like cobalt sulfate and lithium carbonate continued to see price increases. Nickel sulfate prices mainly fluctuated, but due to insufficient demand support in the short term, prices trended upward.This week, coefficients for materials like ternary black mass and lithium cobalt oxide black mass saw slight increases.Currently, the lithium point price for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode black mass is RMB 2,150-2,300 per lithium point, while for LFP battery black mass it is RMB 1,950-2,150 per lithium point.
Taking ternary black mass as an example: Currently, the nickel-cobalt recovery rate for ternary cathode black mass is 72-74%, and the lithium recovery rate is 68-70%. For ternary battery black mass, the nickel-cobalt recovery rate is 70-72%. Prices are basically flat compared to last week.
On the demand side for ternary hydrometallurgy, most ternary hydrometallurgical plants maintained stable purchasing volumes this month, only consuming basic inventories. Due to continued market pessimism about future lithium salt prices, they remain cautious in purchasing black mass, resulting in subdued market activity.On the demand side for LFP hydrometallurgy, most LFP hydrometallurgical plants are essentially in a semi-halted state, only performing some contract processing and not making external purchases. On the supply side, crushing plants and traders have shown some softening in their target selling prices due to the ongoing decline in salt prices. Black mass prices have basically followed the downward trend of salt prices, with the market remaining quiet.
On the cost side, currently, apart from leading integrated hydrometallurgical plants, most hydrometallurgical operations still have profits below the break-even line. LFP hydrometallurgical plants, in particular, are significantly affected by falling lithium salt prices. While crushing operations have slightly better profits than hydrometallurgy, some small and medium-sized crushing plants also continue to face sustained losses.
