[SMM Analysis] Hydrometallurgy Recycling Market This Week: LFP Black Mass Lithium Battery Continued to Rise, Ternary Black Mass Payables Edged Down, 2026.4.13-2026.4.16

Published: Apr 16, 2026 18:14

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Raw material side, lithium carbonate prices held up well this week due to supply disruptions caused by Zimbabwe's latest policy and mine license renewals in Jiangxi. Nickel salt prices fluctuated, while the cobalt salt market was lackluster with prices edging down.

SMM April 16 update:

Raw material side, lithium carbonate prices held up well this week due to supply disruptions from Zimbabwe's latest policy and mine permit renewals in Jiangxi, nickel salt prices fluctuated, and the cobalt salt market was lackluster with prices edging down. This week, by material type across ternary, LCO, and LFP categories: LFP wet-process side, taking LFP pole piece black mass as an example, the current price of LFP pole piece black mass was 6,850-7,350 yuan/mtu, with prices rising WoW compared to Thursday's transactions. As lithium carbonate futures and spot prices continued to rise this week, LFP black mass prices also continued to climb. Moreover, as some LFP recycling enterprises increasingly linked their pricing to futures prices, the price lag diminished and market responses became relatively more sensitive. Ternary and LCO side, as it was not a just-in-time procurement period, compounded by a top-tier enterprise suspending procurement of materials from the open market due to inventory and maintenance reasons, both ternary and LCO lithium payables began to decline, market transactions were few, and sentiment was sluggish.

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

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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