[SMM Weekly Review] This Week in the Hydrometallurgy Recycling Market: Black Mass Transactions Sluggish, Prices Fall Steadily (Jul. 6, 2026 – Jul. 9, 2026)

Published: Jul 9, 2026 16:23

Save

Raw material side, prices of lithium carbonate, nickel sulphate, and cobalt sulphate all fell steadily this week.

SMM July 9 News:

Raw material side, lithium carbonate, nickel sulphate, and cobalt sulphate prices all fell steadily this week.

This week, by ternary, LCO, and LFP material types, the LFP hydrometallurgical side: taking LFP electrode black mass as an example, its current price is 6,850-7,250 yuan/mtu, with prices declining steadily WoW from last Thursday's transactions. This was mainly due to lithium carbonate prices in the doldrums this week, which further weighed on LFP black mass prices with a slight downward adjustment. Currently, LFP battery black mass prices are 6,450-6,750 yuan/mtu, and the price spread with electrode black mass has gradually widened. This is because many LFP refurbishment enterprises are actively producing, mainly purchasing LFP electrodes, thereby expanding the demand landscape for waste LFP electrodes. Consequently, some LFP hydrometallurgical enterprises have switched to buying LFP battery black mass, or are purchasing LFP electrode black mass at extra-high prices; Ternary and LCO side, nickel and cobalt payables for ternary electrode black mass stood around 77-79%; This week, downstream purchasing sentiment was subdued, as most enterprises had completed their just-in-time procurement by month-end and, faced with falling salt prices, chose to mainly adopt a wait-and-see approach; For pure cobalt and high-cobalt scrap materials, lithium payables remained temporarily stable, while the sustained drop in cobalt sulphate prices, coupled with cold demand from downstream LCO cathode plants, led to generally lackluster purchasing enthusiasm from upstream hydrometallurgical enterprises.

SMM New Energy Research Team

Wang Cong 021-51666838

Ma Rui 021-51595780

Feng Disheng 021-51666714

Lu 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.

For any inquiries or for more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn

For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn

Related News

51 mins ago

[SMM Weekly Review] Capacity Realignment Underway, Price Uptrend Slowing Down

[SMM Analysis] Separator Market Prices Edge Up

51 mins ago

1 hour ago

Second-life Application Market Prices Edge Up, LFP Leads the Gains [SMM Weekly Review]

This week, prices in China's second-life battery market edged up, with the LFP category leading the gains. Within LFP, commonly used energy storage specifications saw notable increases, while the small-capacity ternary category edged up in tandem and large-capacity products saw limited movement. The core drivers came from the transmission of previously high costs and the rise in new battery cell prices, collectively boosting second-life product prices, alongside sustained energy storage demand release supporting the LFP category. On the cost side, lithium carbonate pulled back this week while nickel and cobalt continued to grind lower, though this has not yet transmitted to the second-life battery market. On the demand side, energy storage was the key boost, small power applications remained sluggish, and backup power scenarios were generally stable. In the short term, the second-life battery market is expected to be stable with modest gains and limited upside, with LFP outperforming ternary. If lithium carbonate continues to pull back, it may exert some downward pressure on LFP prices.

1 hour ago

Azure: Plans to invest $290 million in Indonesia to build lithium battery project

[Azure: Plans to invest $290 million in Indonesia to build lithium battery project] Azure announced that the 15th meeting of the company's 7th Board of Directors reviewed and approved the "Proposal on Lithium Battery Project Investment in Indonesia," agreeing to invest in the construction of a lithium battery project in Indonesia. The project has a total planned investment of $290 million, and involves building a new 5GWh cylindrical lithium battery manufacturing project. After full completion and reaching full production, it is expected to achieve an annual capacity of 5GWh for various lithium battery models, including 21700.

1 hour ago