Exclusive: SMM’s lithium battery team field trip - Minmetals Salt Lake Co., Ltd

SHANGHAI, Jul 22 (SMM) - The lithium battery industry is booming in 2021. The new energy industry is rising rapidly under the background of stimulus policies and the global electrification trend, driving the entire industry chain into a stage of vigorous development.

As one of the most important basic raw materials for new energy vehicles, lithium resources saw short supply and price increase at the end of 2020 and stable prices amid recovering supply in Q2 2021. The supply of lithium resources has become an important influencing factor for the future development of new energy. How will the customer base in the industry chain, including downstream precursors, materials, batteries, automobiles, and upstream nickel, cobalt and lithium raw material manufacturers, balance the increase in production and the supply of raw materials?

SMM has integrated the upstream and downstream enterprises in the lithium battery industry chain and conducted on-site surveys on lithium battery related companies.  

From July 19 to 23, SMM New Energy Division Director Wang Tian and marketing consultant Yu Lei led the SMM staff and members of the delegation to visit raw material enterprises of lithium battery industry in Qinghai, with the purpose of facilitating closer and in-depth cooperation as well as more effective and sustainable communications.

The delegation members come from Jiangxi Longente Environmental Protection Equipment Co., Ltd., Binteer Control Equipment Co., Ltd., Hangzhou Shangtuo Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., Xiangtan Huibo Centrifuge Co., Ltd., and Zhejiang Dongou Filter Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

The first stop on July 19 -- Minmetals Salt Lake Co., Ltd.

About Minmetals Salt Lake Co., Ltd

Minmetals Salt Lake Co. Ltd is registered in Mangya City, Haixi, Qinghai Province. The production plant lies in Yiliping Salt Lake in the middle of the Qaidam Basin. The office base is located in Xining City, and its wholly-owned subsidiary Minmetals (Qilian) Development Co., Ltd. is in Qilian county, Haibei, Qinghai Province.

The company's main businesses include the exploitation of lithium and potassium resources, as well as the production and sales of lithium carbonate, potash fertiliser, and other products.

The delegation was warmly welcomed by the management of Minmetals Salt Lake, including Chairman Hou Zhaofei, Deputy General Manager Ma Pile, Assistant General Manager Tang Faman, General Manager Mu Dongping of the Business Operation Department, and Director Zan Chao of the Quality Inspection Centre, and listened to the presentation regarding the company’s business development.

Minmetals Salt Lake Co., Ltd. was established in September 2009 by China Minmetals through the strategic cooperation with Qinghai Province to comprehensively develop the resources in Yiliping Salt Lake.

Visiting the Company’s Exhibition Hall

The delegation later visited the exhibition hall of Minmetals Salt Lake Co., Ltd. to gain an in-depth understanding of the company's development history and industry overview.

The company keeps developing and expanding its high-quality customer base. Due to unremitting efforts, its market position and shares has been continuously increasing.

Technology Exchange

The delegation members conducted in-depth exchanges with Minmetals Salt Lake on its core competitiveness and future development plans.

The company said that the lithium hydroxide market has intensively focused on whether lithium hydroxide can be extracted directly from salt lakes.

Major manufacturers have made large investments. High-grade nickel materials will also dominate the growth of ternary materials. Some salt lake companies are studying the direct extraction of lithium hydroxide from brine, which is still under research.

In terms of whether the recovery rate of lithium extraction from connate brine is really high, Minmetals Salt Lake stated that the current results of Minmetals' lithium extraction from connate brine have been identified, and technological breakthroughs have also been achieved. The recovery rate of traditional lithium extraction from concentrated old brine is generally around 35%, and the comprehensive recovery rate of lithium extraction from connate brine can reach 70% without the drying process.

Regarding whether salt lake will suspend production in winter, Minmetals Salt Lake said that winter actually has no significant impact on lithium extraction production, but some companies’ production will be affected by local natural gas restrictions, as citizens have the priority of using natural gas.

The Group Photo

After visiting the factory, the delegation took a group photo with the management of Minmetals Salt Lake Co., Ltd, as the visit has brought deeper cooperation and friendship and on the basis of which, there will be deeper exchanges and cooperation in the future.

After this visit and investigation, the representatives of the delegation have a deeper understanding of Minmetals Salt Lake Co., Ltd’s products, technologies, and company development. At the same time, they have a better understanding of the market status, development trends, and existing conditions of the lithium battery industry. With a deeper understanding of the dilemma, SMM will continue to reinforce cooperation with major companies to achieve complementary advantages and jointly promote the development of China's lithium battery industry.

Special thanks to: Jiangxi Longente Environmental Protection Equipment Co., Ltd., Binteer Control Equipment Co., Ltd., Hangzhou Shangtuo Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., Xiangtan Huibo Centrifuge Co., Ltd., and Zhejiang Dongou Filter Manufacturing Co., Ltd.