【SMM analysis】Hydrometallurgical Recycling Market Overview: Key Developments as of August 14

SMM News, August 14:

This week in the hydrometallurgical recycling sector, cobalt sulfate prices continued to rise, nickel sulfate prices remained largely flat, while lithium carbonate and other salt products saw a sharp increase following the release of information such as mining certifications in Jiangxi. The coefficients for nickel and cobalt in materials like ternary and lithium cobalt oxide black powder stayed generally unchanged, whereas the lithium coefficient continued to climb. The lithium point price for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) black powder also rose steadily this week. Taking ternary black powder as an example, the current nickel-cobalt coefficient for ternary cathode black powder ranges between 72.5% and 75%, remaining largely stable compared to last week, while the lithium coefficient ranges from 72% to 75%, showing a week-on-week increase.

On the demand side, most LFP hydrometallurgical plants continue toll processing operations. With the ongoing increase in lithium carbonate prices, the daily production cost of extracting carbonate from LFP black powder has once again become profitable, leading to improved market activity. In the ternary hydrometallurgical segment, most plants maintained normal purchasing. On the supply side, powder processing factories and traders are holding firm on prices amid rising salt costs, which has warmed market transactions somewhat. However, overall activity remains relatively subdued due to ongoing stalemate between upstream and downstream negotiations. Cost-wise, with the recent rebound in salt prices, profits from extracting salts from externally sourced materials such as lithium cobalt oxide black powder and LFP packs have returned above the breakeven line—except for leading integrated hydrometallurgical plants. Powder processing margins are slightly better than those in hydrometallurgy, though some small and medium-sized factories continue to face inverted profit margins.