Ganfeng Lithium’s Lithium Concentrate Capacity Will Reach 900,000 mt

SHANGHAI, Apr 6 (SMM) - Ganfeng Lithium announced that the Company and its partner Mineral Resources Limited have agreed to upgrade the ore treatment capacity of the Mt Marion lithium spodumene project of the joint venture company RIM.

Based on calculations, lithium concentrate capacity at the Mt Marion lithium spodumene project is expected to increase from 450,000 mt per annum to 600,000 mt per annum by April 2022. At the same time, RIM is planning a second phase of capacity expansion to 900,000 mt per annum on the basis of existing lithium concentrate capacity, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.

In a recently released investor activity research form, Ganfeng Lithium mentioned that the Company achieved a total revenue of 11.162 billion yuan in 2021, up 102% year-on-year, and net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company reached 5.228 billion yuan, up 410% year-on-year. For the reasons of the company's performance growth, Ganfeng Lithium said that during the reporting period, the company's sales of lithium products increased both in volume and amount, and the production of lithium products in 2021 reached 89,742 mt LCE, an increase of 65.23% year-on-year.

Ganfeng Lithium has also made a forecast for China's domestic lithium resources in 2025. They believe that by 2025, domestic production capacity of all types of lithium resources is expected to total around 500,000 mt, with global lithium resource supply at around 1.5 million mt. In terms of lithium extracted from ores, China will produce more than 200,000 mt of lithium salts based on overseas ores, and about 200,000 mt of lithium salts from domestically mined ores.

However, compared to the previous upside trend of lithium salt prices, recently, the prices of lithium salts, led by battery-grade lithium carbonate, have largely stabilised. According to SMM research, the upstream and downstream has been in intense wresting. Some traders continued to lower the prices to sell goods last week, which, coupled with some material plants selling off their raw material inventory, resulted in lower market prices.

For battery-grade lithium carbonate market, after taking into account the constantly rising supply, easing supply tightness as well as poor demand, lithium carbonate prices are expected to remain stable. For lithium hydroxide, although the supply has not recovered as manufacturers are still under maintenance, which has resulted in tight spot supply, some traders also have make shipments to mitigate supply shortage. And in the context of the current small decline in demand, lithium hydroxide prices are expected to stabilise.