SMM September 11 News:
This week, nickel sulphate prices were basically flat, while cobalt sulphate prices continued to rise, and prices of salt products such as lithium carbonate continued to decline. Although cobalt salt prices kept rising, the nickel and cobalt coefficients for ternary and LCO black mass were basically flat WoW, while the lithium coefficient basically followed the decline after the drop in lithium carbonate. For LFP black mass, prices per % lithium continued to decline this week. Taking LFP pole piece black mass as an example, the current price range is 2,600-2,800 yuan/mtu, down about 100 yuan/mtu WoW. For ternary black mass, the current nickel and cobalt coefficient for ternary pole piece black mass is 73-75%, flat WoW, and the lithium coefficient is 68-71%, also basically flat WoW. For LCO black mass, the cobalt coefficient rose 1 percentage point this week, while the lithium coefficient fell 2 percentage points. On the LFP hydrometallurgy side, most LFP battery hydrometallurgy recycling plants maintained toll processing. With the decline in lithium carbonate prices this week, the profit margin for externally purchased LFP black mass to produce lithium chemicals gradually shifted from hovering around the breakeven line at month-end August to around -5% to -8%. As a result, some lithium chemical recycling enterprises that resumed production in mid-August have adopted a cautious attitude toward purchasing raw materials such as black mass, and market transaction sentiment was mediocre compared to the previous week.
SMM New Energy Research Team
Wang Cong 021-51666838
Ma Rui 021-51595780
Feng Disheng 021-51666714
Lü Yanlin 021-20707875
Zhou Zhicheng 021-51666711
