2021 Cobalt Lithium Mineral contention Fengyunlu Enterprises contend for Lithium Mine has involved more than 40 billion! [annual Review]

SMM survey: what kind of metal do you like most in 2022?

Looking back on the coming 2021, under the explosive wave of new energy vehicles, "Grandma Cobalt" and "Grandpa Lithium" have undoubtedly become hot topics this year. With the shortage of upstream mining end leading to the rapid rise of cobalt salt and lithium salt prices, in order to stabilize enterprise costs, many middle and lower reaches enterprises have also embarked on the road of competing with upstream mining end enterprises for cobalt and lithium minerals.

The Millennium Lithium Industry reverses "Tai Drama" in multiple ways.

In the layout of the cobalt-lithium mine end of a large number of enterprises, the most dramatic and most reversal is the acquisition war of the Millennium Lithium Industry. The battle for the lithium mine involves Ganfeng Lithium, one of the lithium giants, and Ningde, a power battery giant whose share prices have hit record highs this year. First, Ningde era intercepted Hu Ganfeng Lithium and temporarily won the acquisition rights of Millennium Lithium, but then Millennium Lithium received a "better offer" from American Lithium than that of Ningde era, and eventually Ningde era missed out with Millennium Lithium, which bought all shares in Millennial for a total consideration of about $400m. The acquisition battle of the Millennium Lithium Industry, which has lasted for nearly four months, has finally come to an end.

Although this battle for lithium mines is quite dramatic, it still conveys an indisputable fact-the battle for lithium mines is becoming increasingly fierce, and the speed of enterprises' layout of lithium mines is also accelerating. According to official media statistics, under the layout of enterprises competing for lithium resources such as lithium mines and salt lakes, the amount involved has exceeded 40 billion yuan! The following picture shows the competition for cobalt and lithium ore by a group of domestic and foreign enterprises this year, which is roughly sorted out by SMM according to the time line.

It is obvious that the active layout of the cobalt-lithium ore end of domestic and foreign enterprises is mostly concentrated in the second half of this year. With this in mind, I have to mention the "big event" that Pilbara, the main Australian lithium mine, auctioned spodumene concentrate at historically high prices around 2021.

Two auctions of spodumene concentrate from Pilbara, the main lithium mine in Australia, have aroused heated discussion.

Pilbara's first public auction of spodumene concentrate took place at the end of July. On July 29, the first online auction of spodumene concentrate by Pilbara, the main Australian lithium mine, brought the spodumene concentrate to the highest bid of US $1250 per metric ton FOB, plus 65 freight to an all-time high of 1315 USD/t (CIF China), boosting market sentiment. For a moment, there was a lot of discussion about lithium ore. Meanwhile, the prices of lithium metal, spodumene concentrate (CIF, China) and lithium salts led by lithium carbonate also saw a rapid rise in August, according to spot prices of SMM.

In mid-September, Pilbara opened its second public auction of spodumene concentrate, with a final price of 2240USD CIF t, much higher than the 1700-2000USD/t (CIF China) range widely predicted by analysts, setting another all-time high and adding another fire to lithium-related products, which are already rising unstoppably.

The price of cobalt and lithium related products is "too exciting" to hit a three-year high.

Since the beginning of the year (December 29), according to the spot price of SMM, the price of lithium metal has risen by 740000 yuan / ton to 1225000 yuan / ton, an increase of 152.58%. The average spot price of spodumene concentrate has increased by US $1682.5 / ton, or 403%, over the beginning of the year; the average spot price of battery-grade lithium carbonate has increased by 217000 yuan / ton to 270000 yuan / ton over the beginning of the year, an increase of 409.43%. The average spot price of battery-grade lithium hydroxide rose 169500 yuan / ton to 219000 yuan / ton from the beginning of the year, an increase of 342.42%, setting a three-year record high one after another.

"Click to view the spot price of SMM new energy products

Cobalt, although the performance is not equal to the strong lithium, but still can not be ignored. The average spot price of electrolytic cobalt increased by 213000 yuan / ton to 487000 yuan / ton compared with the beginning of the year, an increase of 77.74%. In terms of cobalt salts, the average spot price of cobalt sulfate rose 44500 yuan per ton from the beginning of the year, an increase of 77.39 percent.

"Click to view the historical price of SMM Metals.

Under the extremely rapid rise in the price of cobalt and lithium, many enterprises and institutions have shown a strong optimistic attitude towards the future of cobalt and lithium. Enterprises in the middle and lower reaches that were originally fond of their respective fields have also opened up the upward layout of mine-end resources. the following is the detailed layout of the enterprises at the cobalt-lithium mine end:

[Ganfeng Lithium Industry: the offer to acquire Bacanora is approved by the government, and the Goulamina lithium mineral energy will increase to 4 million tons]

On December 24th, Ganfeng Lithium said it had received notification from Shanghai Ganfeng, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, that the Mexican government had approved the offer to acquire Bacanora. Bacanora's main asset is the lithium clay Sonora project in Mexico. The Sonora project is currently one of the largest lithium resource projects in the world, with a total lithium resource of about 8.82 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent. At present, the project has not yet been put into production, and it is expected that the first phase of the project will form an annual production capacity of 20000 tons of lithium hydroxide. Currently, Goulamina spodumene partner Firefinch is working on an updated final feasibility study to consider increasing the production capacity of the second phase of the Goulamina spodumene project from 2.3 million tons to 4 million tons per year.

Ganfeng's offer to acquire Bacanora is approved by the government. Goulamina lithium mineral energy will increase to 4 million tons.

Ganfeng Lithium paid $13.16 million for an 8.58 per cent stake in Mariana: on Sept. 24, International Lithium said it had agreed to sell its remaining 8.58 per cent stake in the Mariana (Mariana) lithium project in Argentina to a subsidiary of its joint venture partner Ganfeng Lithium. Moreover, Ganfeng Lithium will acquire 10 per cent ownership of the Mariana Lithium Mine in Argentina while owning 8.58 per cent. According to public data, the Mariana project includes a lithium brine deposit located in the Salta Lithium Triangle in Argentina, with an estimated 4.41 million tons of LCE (Lithium Carbonate equivalent) measurement and indication resources, and 786000 tons of inferred LCE, making it one of the largest lithium deposits in the world.

Ganfeng Lithium Industry spent US $13.16 million to acquire 8.58% stake in Mariana Lithium Mine and get another 10% ownership.

[Huayou Cobalt: to acquire 100% stake in Zimbabwe Prospect Lithium Mining Company for US $422 million]

On December 22nd, Huayou Cobalt announced that its subsidiary, Huayou International Mining, had signed the "PMPL share Sale and purchase Agreement" and the "Minority shareholder share Sale and purchase Agreement" with PMPL, Mr. Kingston Kajese, a natural person, Tamari Trust and other relevant parties, respectively. Upon completion of the acquisition, Huayou International Mining will hold a 100% stake in Prospect Lithium Mining and related claims under the Inter-Company loan Agreement. It is reported that Prospect Lithium Mine owns 100% interest in Arcadia Lithium Mine in Zimbabwe.

The battle for lithium mines heats up again. Huayou Cobalt plans to acquire a 100% stake in Zimbabwe Prospect Lithium Mining Company for US $422 million.

[Rio Tinto buys Argentine lithium mine project for $825 million] on December 22nd, Rio Tinto agreed to acquire the Rincon brine project, which is located in the center of the lithium triangle in Argentina's Salta province. Rio Tinto said Rincon was a large undeveloped lithium brine project that would use direct, low-cost extraction technology that had "the potential to significantly improve lithium recovery" compared with solar evaporation pools, adding that a pilot plant was currently running at the site.

Rio Tinto buys Argentine lithium mine project for $825 million

In addition, on July 27, Rio Tinto announced that it had approved an investment of US $2.4 billion in the Jadar lithium borate project in Serbia, which still needs further approval from the local government. Rio Tinto expects the project to start production on a large scale in 2026 and reach its maximum capacity by 2029, with an estimated annual capacity of 58000 tons of lithium carbonate, 160000 tons of boric acid and 255000 tons of sodium sulfate, which will also make Rio Tinto one of the top 10 lithium suppliers in the world.

Rio Tinto Group Announces US $2.4 billion Investment in Serbian Lithium Mine to become the largest supplier in Europe

[medium ore resources: the first batch of 2000 tons of spodumene concentrate produced by Canada's TANCO mine was shipped home]

Around December 20, the TANCO mine to which China Mineral Resources belongs is currently the largest known PLC pegmatite lithium cesium tantalum deposit in the world. under the existing mining scheme, it retains 4.6028 million tons of lithium mineral resources of proven category + control category (Li2O ≥ 1%), with an average Li2O grade of 2.44% Li2O content of 112300 tons (about 280000 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent). In order to give full play to the value of its own lithium resources and turn resource advantages into economic advantages, China Mineral Resources decided to start the technical renovation and restoration project of spodumene mining and separation system at the beginning of 2021. The project team overcame the influence of unfavorable factors such as COVID-19 epidemic situation and severe cold weather in winter, and was completed and put into operation in mid-October as planned. At present, it has basically reached the production standard. Recently, the first batch of 2000 tons of high-quality spodumene concentrate was shipped back to China to supplement the raw material demand of the 25000-ton battery-grade lithium hydroxide and battery-grade lithium carbonate production line of Jiangxi Dongpeng New Materials Co., Ltd., which belongs to China Mineral Resources.

"the first batch of 2000 tons of spodumene concentrate produced by China Mineral Resources Group TANCO Mine in Canada was shipped back to China.

[clean lithium mine developer LKE will start drilling work on its three lithium projects next year to expand potential lithium resources.] on December 16, clean lithium mine developer Lake Resources NL began new drilling in Lake's wholly-owned Olaroz, Cauchari and Paso lithium salt water projects in late January 2022, with plans to drill 10 holes and 4000 meters, aimed at expanding its lithium mine projects and potential resources.

LKE, a clean lithium mine developer, will start drilling work on its three lithium projects next year to expand potential lithium resources.

[Anzhong Co., Ltd. plans to acquire 231 million of Jinhui Recycling's 70% stake in lithium mineral processing and other industries] on December 15, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Yi Chunyou Lithium, Anzhong intends to acquire 21 million Jinhui Regeneration shares (corresponding to Jinhui Regeneration's 21 million shares) held by Shiyan Hongsheng with its own and self-raised funds of RMB 231 million. After the completion of the transaction, the company's business scope will be extended to mineral processing and tailings production and processing industries.

As early as May 16, Anzhong also planned to use its own funds to acquire no less than 51% stake in Jiangxi Xing Lithium Technology Co., Ltd., held by Jiangxi Tongan. Xing Lithium Technology has an annual selection of 400000 tons of lithium-bearing porcelain stone ore efficient comprehensive utilization project, located in Yifeng County, Jiangxi Province, Tongan Township, under the new house, covers an area of 75.03 mu, with an annual output of about 40, 000 tons of lithium mica concentrate.

Anzhong Holdings plans to acquire 231 million of Jinghui Recycling's shares in industries such as lithium ore and mineral processing.

Anzhong shares: proposed acquisition of Jiangxi Lithium Mine assets

August 5 news saddle heavy shares announcement, the company and Qiangqiang Investment and other parties signed an equity acquisition intention agreement, intend to use their own funds to acquire no less than 51% stake in Jiangxi Tongan. Jiangxi Tongan holds a 70 per cent stake in Jiangxi Dingxing Mining and a 49 per cent stake in Jiangxi Xingli. Dingxing Mining also holds a 51% stake in Jiangxi Xingli. After the completion of this transaction, the project is expected to mine about 1.35 million tons of raw ore and produce about 300000 tons of lithium concentrate annually, equivalent to about 23000 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent.

Anzhong shares: proposed acquisition of Jiangxi Lithium Mine assets

[Accor Group: plans to subscribe for 9.5% shares of Australian EV Co., Ltd. to jointly develop Lithium Resources] on December 14, Ya Hua Group announced that the company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Yahua International, intends to subscribe for 80 million shares of Australia EV Resources Co., Ltd. at a price of A $0.045 per share, accounting for 9.5% of the total share capital of EV. The main purpose of this subscription for EV's equity interest is to jointly develop its existing lithium ore resources with EV.

The layout of lithium ore and lithium iron phosphate go hand in hand! Yahua Group issued two announcements in a single day to expand the lithium power business.

[Franklin Mining to develop Lithium Mine] on December 3, Nevada-based Franklin Mining will cooperate with a lithium mine in northern Argentina, according to a letter of intent signed by William Petty, chief executive of Franklin Mining. Franklin executives will travel to mines in northern Argentina in January 2022 to conduct due diligence and plan mine development.

Franklin Mining will develop Lithium Mine

[Sheng Xin Lithium Energy: has applied for the right to exploit two lithium mines in Ukraine] around December 1, the Ukrainian government website shows that Sheng Xin Lithium Energy (002240.SZ) has applied for the right to exploit two lithium mines in Ukraine. It is reported that Shengxin Lithium Neng has bid for two lithium mines in Ukraine, Shevchenkivske and Dobra, which are located in (Donetsk) in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine and central Ukraine, which can produce 15000 tons of lithium carbonate per year. One of Sheng Xin's main rivals may be European lithium, which said in December that it would acquire (Petro Consulting), a Ukrainian oil consulting company, on the condition that Ukrainian oil consulting company acquire the rights to exploit and process the two lithium mines within a year. This situation also means that in addition to the millennium lithium industry, another lithium mining battle has begun, and the follow-up SMM will continue to pay attention.

According to the previous disclosure of Shengxin Lithium Energy, as of November 7, the company's layout of lithium mines includes that Sun's Oyino Mining Company has the mining rights of Yelonggou spodumene Mine in Jinchuan County, Sichuan Province, and the detailed exploration rights of Taiyang Hekou Lithium Polymetallic Mine, of which the former has proven Li2O resources of 111500 tons. In addition, the company has acquired a 51% stake in Max Mind, and its wholly-owned grandson has mining warrants for a total of 40 rare metal blocks in the Sabixing lithium-tantalum project in Zimbabwe; not only that, the company has also acquired a 100% stake in Argentina's SESA, which operates the Argentine SDLA project through the UT consortium; the company has also taken a stake in Huitong Mining, Yajiang County, Sichuan Province, with a total stake of 25.19%, which has been proved to have 642900 tons of Li2O resources.

It is reported that the company's own mine Oyino Mining raw ore production scale of 405000 tons / year, can provide lithium ore raw materials for the company's lithium salt production. At the same time, the start-up of the Sabixing lithium mine in Zimbabwe will greatly increase the company's self-sufficiency in lithium ore supply.

"the competition for overseas lithium mining assets is becoming more and more fierce, and another domestic company is bidding at sea.

[Ningde Times: registered 1 billion yuan to establish a mineral resources company-Yichun Times New Energy Resources Co., Ltd.] on November 23, Ningde Times even registered 1 billion yuan to establish a mineral resources company-Yichun Times New Energy Resources Co., Ltd. the company's business scope includes mineral resources mining, mineral processing, production and sales of mineral products. And it is worth mentioning that Yichun has the world's largest lithium mica ore, and now it is proved that the available lithium oxide reserves are about 2.5 million tons.

"set up two companies with 3 billion dollars in four days! The "two-pronged" stock price of lithium mine battery in Ningde era continues to hit an all-time high.

On September 27th, Suzhou Tianhua Times New Energy Industry Investment Co., Ltd., a Ningde time shareholding company, invested US $240 million in Manono, a lithium project of Australian mineral exploration company AVZ Minerals. The Manono project is one of the hardrock lithium deposits with the largest reserves and the highest grade discovered so far, with proven resources of up to 269 million tons and estimated lithium reserves of 400 million tons. AVZ had previously estimated that the design capacity of the Manono project would include an annual production capacity of 700000 tons of lithium oxide with a design life of up to 20 years.

In addition, Ningde Times bought a 100 per cent stake in Millennial LithiumCorp, a Canadian lithium company, for C $377 million. The company has two world-class lithium salt lake projects in Argentina and is rich in lithium resources.

"double cannon! Ningde Times also bought a stake in the world's largest lithium mine after acquiring a 100% stake in Canadian lithium company.

[Mount Qomolangma, Tibet: signing an investment agreement with the government of Salta province in Argentina]

On the afternoon of November 16, Tibet Everest Resources Co., Ltd. and the Salta provincial government of the Argentine Republic formally signed the Investment Agreement on Salta Salt Lake Resources industrialization Development Project at the 14th China-Latin American Entrepreneur Summit (hereinafter referred to as the Summit). According to the investment agreement signed this time, Mount Qomolangma in Tibet and its subsidiary companies will invest about US $700 million in 2022 to build an annual production capacity of 50,000 tons of lithium carbonate products in the Anheles Salt Lake in Salta Province. construction of the project is scheduled to start by the end of 2021 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2022. At the same time, it will invest US $15 million to complete the geological exploration of Arizaro Salt Lake in Salta Province in 2022 and obtain mining rights and environmental assessment permits. (EIA); plans to invest no less than US $1 billion to build an annual production capacity of 50-100000 tons of lithium carbonate products in Arizaro Salt Lake.

"Mount Qomolangma in Tibet signs an investment agreement with the government of Salta province in Argentina.

The project to produce 55000 tons of lithium carbonate per year was officially launched in Angeles Lithium Salt Lake, Salta Province, Argentina, on December 22, local time.

[Jinyuan shares: cross-border acquisition of four lithium mine shares in 3 months] Jinyuan shares announced on November 8 that Tibet Jinzangyuan Lithium Industry Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, plans to acquire a 51% stake in Tibet Ali Liyuan Mining Development Co., Ltd. with its own capital of 510 million yuan. In fact, since September 24, Jinyuan New Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jinyuan, plans to acquire a 51% stake in Chenyu Mining, which is rich in lithium, boron and other mineral resources. On October 8, Jinyuan issued a notice on the signing of cooperation framework agreements and supplementary agreements by its subsidiaries, which mentioned that Jinyuan New Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, plans to acquire a 60% stake in Liyuan Mining in the form of cash and issuing shares. On October 12, Jinyuan shares once again announced that Jinyuan New Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, signed a "Cooperation Framework Agreement" with Huang Liangbiao, Yu Fei, their wholly owned subsidiaries and lithium industry. Huang Liangbiao and Yu Fei sold no less than 51% of shares in Tibet and the lithium industry to Jinyuan New Energy.

"acquire 4 shares of lithium mines across the border in 3 months! The company said that there is no production plan for lithium battery for the time being.

[us lithium mining giant Abel: restart a sealed lithium mine] on November 5th, the US company plans to open sales at a new plant in Chile in early 2022 and an expanded plant in Western Australia around the middle of the year. At the same time, restart another sealed lithium mine. Meanwhile, the company is evaluating bids for new contracts in Chile and looking for possible acquisition opportunities in Australia, North America and Europe, executives said on Thursday.

The surge in lithium demand driven by the wave of electric cars accelerates the expansion of lithium mining giant Yabao.

[MARBL Joint Venture: to restart the operation of (Wodgina), the Wodgina lithium mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia]

On October 25th MARBL lithium joint venture (MARBL) announced that it would restart the operation of (Wodgina), the Wodgina lithium mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The joint venture is an unincorporated joint venture owned by MRL and Albemarle Corporation.

MARBL expects Wodgina to restart in the third quarter of 2022 to safely produce spodumene concentrates. Wodgina received care and maintenance in November 2019 because of weak global market conditions at the time.

"welcome the world-class lithium opportunity again! MARBL Joint Venture to restart Wodgina Lithium Mine 2022 spodumene concentrate is expected to increase after the third quarter

[Zijin Mining: 5 billion acquisition of Canadian lithium salt company Neo Lithium]

On Oct. 9, Zijin Mining acquired all the outstanding shares of Canadian lithium salt company Neo Lithium for a total consideration of about 960 million Canadian dollars (4.96 billion yuan) in cash. It is reported that the price of this transaction is about 36 per cent higher than the 20-day average price of Neo Lithium. The chairman of Zijin Mining said that, Neo Lithium's 3Q Lithium Salt Lake project in Catamaka, Argentina is one of the largest and highest-grade projects of its kind in the world. The 3Q project is located in the Latin American Lithium Triangle and covers an area of about 35000 hectares, including about 16000 hectares of salt lakes, in the province of Catamarca, Argentina's largest lithium producing region.

"aim at new energy minerals! Zijin Mining spends 5 billion to acquire Canadian lithium salt company Neo Lithium

[Fulin Seiko: plans to acquire Hengxin Rong 9% equity layout upstream lithium resources]

On September 13, Fulin Seiko announced that the company plans to sign an equity transfer agreement with Chen Wei, a natural person shareholder of Qinghai Hengxin Rongli Technology Co., Ltd., to acquire Hengxin Rong's 9 per cent stake for 333 million yuan. It is reported that Hengxinrong has the exploration right of deep brine salt lake resources in the northeast of Lake Taijinel, Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai Province. the mining area has a total area of 394.26 square kilometers and belongs to a liquid super-large lithium deposit.

Fulin Seiko plans to acquire Hengxin Rong 9% equity layout upstream lithium ore resources

[Jiangte Motor: a total of more than 100 million tons of lithium ore resources held or controlled]

In response to investors' questions on the interactive platform, Jiangte Motor said that the company has two mining rights and five exploration rights for lithium porcelain stone in Yichun area, and has proved 93.6 million tons of lithium ore reserves, totaling more than 100 million tons of lithium ore resources held or controlled.

"this stock is up more than 632% this year! With 100 million tons of lithium ore resources, it has no lithium battery business.

[Ya Hua Group: developing Trigg Hill Tantalum and Lithium Project with Eastern Iron of Australia]

(Eastern Iron), an Australian miner, signed a memorandum of cooperation with Sichuan Yahua International Investment and Development Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sichuan Yahua Enterprise Co., Ltd., to jointly develop the Trigg Hill tantalum and lithium project. Yahua and Eastern Iron have formed a joint venture ("JV") to acquire and develop lithium projects in Australia and other countries outside China. The joint venture will be established prior to the acquisition of the lithium project by Eastern Iron or upon completion of the agreed workload of the lithium project by the Company; upon completion of the acquisition of the Trigg Hill Lithium Tantalum Project ("Trigg Hill") and the determination of the initial exploration objectives of Trigg Hill, the parties intend to establish a joint venture for the exploration and development of the project; Yaya will be granted the right of preemption to purchase products from any joint venture project, including the Trigg Hill project.

Yahhua Group cooperates with Australia's Eastern Iron to develop Trigg Hill Tantalum and Lithium Project

[Australia's main lithium mine Pilbara plans to significantly increase spodumene production]

Pilbara, Australia's leading lithium ore producer, plans to significantly increase its spodumene production in the fiscal year from July 2021 to June 2022, spurred by fast-growing demand for lithium concentrate and higher prices, according to foreign media.

It is reported that Pilbara will increase its supply of spodumene concentrate to 550000-580000 tons by mid-2022 by increasing production at its second plant in Pilgangoora, Western Australia. In addition, Pilbara's second plant in Ngungaju is expected to produce 180000-200000 dry tons of spodumene concentrate by mid-2022.

However, according to the latest news, Tianfeng Securities has mentioned this week (12.27-12.31) the Australian lithium mine Pilbara reduced its production guidance for the fourth quarter of 2021 from 9-115000 tons of concentrate to 8.5-95000 tons of concentrate. At the same time, it also lowered its production guidance for 2022, which was originally planned for 46-510000 tons of concentrate production to 40-450000 tons.

Pilbara, Australia's main lithium mine, plans to significantly increase spodumene production after the first historically high price auction.

[Tibet's Mount Qomolangma and Lanxiao Science and Technology discuss the development and technical cooperation of salt lake lithium deposits in Argentina]

On August 16, Mount Qomolangma in Tibet and Lanxiao Science and Technology discussed the development and technical cooperation of salt lake lithium deposits in Argentina. Lanxiao Technology has the ANGELES (SDLA project in Salta province in northern Argentina) and ARIZARO two high-quality salt lake lithium deposits, with a total area of more than 400 square kilometers. Among them, ANGELES Salt Lake has proven lithium reserves of 2 million tons (lithium carbonate equivalent). ARIZARO Salt Lake is currently under exploration and evaluation, and some data have shown that the concentration of lithium mineralization is between 30 and 979mg/L, and the ratio of magnesium to lithium is 14. It is inferred that it has great potential for lithium resources.

"Tibet's Mount Qomolangma and Lanxiao Science and Technology discuss the development and technical cooperation of salt lake lithium deposits in Argentina.

[Chilean lithium mine SQM plans to expand lithium production capacity]

SQM, a Chilean lithium mining company, put forward a plan to expand the production capacity of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide by the end of 2022 in response to a rebound in demand and rising prices. The company advanced its plan to produce 180000 tons of lithium carbonate and 30, 000 tons of lithium hydroxide to the end of 2022, earlier than previously planned. With the expansion of capacity in 2022, total production is expected to reach 140000 tons in 2022, an increase of 47-55 per cent over 2021.

[UK is considering building rare metal inventory for electric vehicle applications]

Britain is exploring plans to build an inventory of rare earth metals for electric vehicles to protect Britain's access to important materials such as lithium and cobalt, the Daily Telegraph reported on May 6, citing unnamed government officials. The UK may build national stocks to avoid shortages and support attempts to build domestic resources, such as potential lithium mines in Cornwall, or to secure supplies from overseas private companies through diplomatic networks.

[Rongjie Co., Ltd.: the company currently has the overall mining rights of the 13th vein in the Kangding methyl card spodumene mining area. The certified reserves are 28.995 million tons and 28.995 million tons]

On April 15, Rongjie shares said on the interactive platform that the company currently owns the overall mining rights of the 13th vein of Kangding methyl card spodumene mining area, with a certified reserve of 28.995 million tons, and as of December 31, 2020, it has produced 1.368 million tons of ore. The average grade of the company's lithium ore is 1.42%. About 5-6 tons of raw ore can be selected from 1 ton of 6% lithium concentrate, and it takes about 8-9 tons of 6% lithium concentrate to produce 1 ton of lithium carbonate.

[Tianyi Lithium Industry, a subsidiary of Tianhua Super net holding Company, signed an off-take Agreement with Dathcom and AVZ to sign an off-take Agreement for Lithium concentrate]

Although Tianhua Chaojing did not join the fight for lithium mines before, it also signed a procurement agreement with lithium mining companies. Yibin Tianyi Lithium Science and Technology Co., Ltd., a holding subsidiary of Suzhou Tianhua Chaojing Technology Co., Ltd., signed an off-take agreement with Dathcom and AVZ. Tianyi Lithium intends to purchase spodumene concentrate from Dathcom, and Dathcom appoints AVZ as the sales agent for Dathcom to exercise the seller's rights and perform the seller's obligations under the agreement. It is reported that the initial purchase period of this agreement is 3 years, and the buyer can choose to extend it for another 2 years after it expires. At present, Tianyi Lithium Industry has agreed to buy 200000 (±12.5%) dry metric tons of spodumene concentrate each year.

Tianyi Lithium Industry, a subsidiary of Tianhua Super net holding Company, signed an off-take agreement for lithium concentrate.

In addition, around January 14, Tianyi Lithium, a holding subsidiary of Tianhua Super net, signed a "spodumene concentrate expansion and 5-year exclusive cooperation agreement" with Brazilian mining company AMG. This cooperation agreement requires AMG to provide at least 200000 dry metric tons of spodumene concentrate, which will be delivered within 5 years after the completion of AMG capacity expansion, and the new capacity will be supplied exclusively to Tianyi Lithium Industry, with a tentatively estimated sale and purchase agreement of US $90 million.

Tianhua Super Clean: Tianyi Lithium Industry signs Lithium concentrate Purchasing and production expansion Agreement with AMG

Cobalt ore:

[Glencore: the restart of the Mutada SX-EW mine is expected to restore 20000 tons of cobalt production per year] in May, Glencore reported that the Mutada SX-EW mine had been restarted and that the mine was expected to start production by the end of the year. The project is expected to restore annual cobalt production of 20000 tons, accounting for 9.0% of global supply by 2025.

[China Molybdenum Industry: plans to expand the Tenke Fungurume mine to increase cobalt production by 17000 tons per year by 2023] China Molybdenum Industry Co., Ltd. has begun to plan to increase production by 17000 tons per year in Tenke Fungurume by 2023. As of July, the expansion project is in the pre-commissioning stage, and the mine will increase global supply by 24000 tons per year. By 2025, the main increase in cobalt supply will come from Mutanda SX-EW and Tenke Fungurume.

"driven by rising cobalt prices and costs, overseas copper and cobalt mining companies intend to restart and expand the scale of their mines.

[Sherritt plans to expand and extend the life of the Moa nickel-cobalt mine in Cuba]

, Sherritt International (TSX: S) is working on plans to expand production and extend the life of the Moa nickel-cobalt mine in Cuba. Moa is a laterite nickel deposit mined by open-pit mining. The ore is leached by pressurized acid at the site and then transported to a refinery in Canada. Production of finished nickel and cobalt and by-product ammonium sulfate fertilizer. Moa's latest 43-101resources were completed in 2019. At that time, the project had a measured tonnage of 111.9 million tons, with a nickel grade of 1.03% and a cobalt grade of 0.13%. The part shown is 46 million tons, with a nickel content of 0.94% and a cobalt content of 0.12%. The inferred resources are 32.6 million tons, the nickel grade is 0.89%, and the cobalt grade is 0.13%.

Sherritt plans to expand and extend the Life of the Moa Nickel-Cobalt Mine in Cuba

[Luoyang Molybdenum Industry invests 16.2 billion to invest in copper and cobalt mine project and expects to increase the annual output of cobalt by an average of 17000 tons]

Luoyang Molybdenum Industry announced on Aug. 6 that it plans to invest 2.51 billion US dollars (about 16.2 billion yuan) in the construction of the TFM copper-cobalt mixed mine project. After reaching production in the future, the average annual output of copper is expected to be about 200000 tons, and that of cobalt is about 17000 tons. The project is expected to be completed and put into production in 2023.

The announcement shows that Luoyang Molybdenum indirectly holds an 80 per cent interest in the TFM copper and cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). TFM Copper-Cobalt Mine has six mining rights and an area of more than 1500 square kilometers. it is one of the copper and cobalt minerals with the largest reserves and the highest grade in the world. TFM Copper and Cobalt Mine covers the exploration, mining, refining, processing and marketing of copper and cobalt ores, and its main products are cathode copper and cobalt hydroxide. In 2020, the TFM copper-cobalt mine produced a total of 182600 tons of copper and 15400 tons of cobalt.

Luoyang Molybdenum Industry invests 16.2 billion yuan to invest in copper and cobalt mine projects and expects to increase the annual output of cobalt by an average of 17000 tons.

[Mutanda, the world's largest copper-cobalt mine, is scheduled to restart by the end of the year and is expected to increase 20, 000 tons of cobalt a year]

Glencore plans to restart its copper and cobalt project in Mutanda Mining, Congo, by the end of this year, which has been idle for about two years. Glencore said Mutanda "will start production by the end of this year in order to resume production in 2022". Brocas said Glencore expects to produce 35000 tonnes of cobalt in 2020 and is expected to add about 20, 000 tonnes of cobalt to the market each year with the restart of the Mutanda mine, but Brocas said Glencore would be careful to increase production "to avoid oversupply in the market".

Mutanda, the world's largest copper and cobalt mine, is scheduled to restart before the end of the year and is expected to increase production by 20,000 tons of cobalt a year.

[Shengtun Mining intends to raise 2.25 billion of the main investment in the Kalongwei project plus copper and cobalt resources]

On June 3, Shengtun Mining announced that the company plans to raise an additional 2.25 billion yuan, and that the net funds raised after deducting issuance costs will be used for the Kalong Wei project (1.6 billion yuan) and supplementary liquidity (650 million yuan). Shengtun Mining plans to implement the project through its wholly-owned subsidiary Kalonway Mining Co., Ltd., which includes copper and cobalt mining and ore smelting.

The Kalongwei project is the third largest copper enrichment area in the world, and it is also a copper-cobalt metallogenic belt with the largest resource reserves and the highest distribution density of ore deposits in the world. At present, the company has an annual production capacity of 30000 tons of electrode copper and 3500 tons of cobalt comprehensive utilization project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as Zhuhai Ke Lixin has carried out stable production. With the implementation of this project, the company will obtain high-quality copper and cobalt mineral resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which will have a synergistic effect with the existing copper-cobalt comprehensive smelting project, and further expand the smelting capacity of copper-cobalt ore.

[Phoenix Copper cooperates with First Cobalt on Idaho Cobalt Mine Project]

Around May 25th, emerging mineral and exploration company Phoenix Copper announced that it will cooperate with Toronto-listed First Cobalt to launch the Redcastle cobalt deposit in the Idaho cobalt belt. The mine shares a common boundary with First Cobalt's Iron Creek mine, which has 2.37 million tons of marked cobalt and copper resources with a cobalt grade of 0.32% and a copper grade of 0.61%.

Phoenix Copper cooperates with First Cobalt on the Idaho Cobalt Mine Project

[Australian-Finnish mining company discovers cobalt ore in Finland]

Latitude 66 Cobalt, an Australian-Finnish mining company, has discovered the fourth largest cobalt mine in Europe in eastern Lapland, Finland. This new discovery solidifies Scandinavia's position as a producer of raw materials. Of the 20 largest cobalt deposits in Europe, 14 are in Finland, five in Sweden and one in Spain. Finland is the largest producer of battery metals and chemicals in Europe.

Australian-Finnish mining company discovers cobalt ore in Finland

With the price soaring, where will the lithium price go in the future? Under the mismatch between supply and demand, where will the price of lithium salt go? In the follow-up, SMM will specially sort out the views of various organizations and industry celebrities on the future development of cobalt and lithium. Please pay attention to.