Huge discovery of the silvery-white alkali metal known as ‘white gold’ is expected to make its way to China’s battery makers, heating up a global resource race as Thailand also boasts a big lithium find.
China Lithium Price: Prices of the chemical used in batteries in China, also the world s largest producer, have already tumbled 77% this year after Beijing slashed subsidies for electric vehicles from January, dragging down lithium ore prices and hurting global miners profit margins.
China Lithium: The most-traded January lithium futures contract on the exchange edged up 1% on Friday to end the week at 124,050 yuan (USD 17,202.65) per metric ton, down 10% on the week. They shed 7% last week. It posted a 7% tumble on Thursday and now stands at less than half its price when the contract began trading in July.
Despite the push toward decoupling, China-West collaboration persists in South America’s Lithium Triangle. But in the age of strategic competition, how long will this last?