China-Australia relationship remains unclear, but remains inextricably linked economically.
As China’s lithium battery exports continue to rise, China’s demand for lithium has also risen, and Australia, as the main source of lithium raw materials, is China’s most important partner.
Australia’s first battery-grade lithium refinery, the largest outside China, has opened talks with electric vehicle makers as it seeks to meet surging demand from global automakers for the mineral.
Shares of lithium miners in Australia – the world’s biggest producer of the metal – have soared this year. Lithium shortages and rebounding demand after the Covid-19 pandemic have sent the metal to record highs, giving a boost to mining stocks.
In Australia, lithium mines extract the metal from hard-rock minerals called spodumene and petalite. Spodumene concentrate is a critical component in the production of lithium chemicals, which are used to make batteries for electric vehicles.
Australia’s total lithium concentrate exports saw a year-on-year increase of 15 percent in the first five months of 2022, with China accounting for 96 percent of the total, amid strong demand for the raw material as it consolidates its new-energy vehicle (NEV) industry and takes measures to meet carbon emissions reduction goals.
In response to the growing demand from China’s downstream producers, Australian’s export of spodumene, an important source of lithium, to China saw a significant 14.9 percent year-on-year jump, reaching 906,000 tons, from January to May, according to Australian trade data.
Due to strong demand from Chinese clients, the average price of spodumene in Australia rose to $2,873 per ton in May, up 541.3 percent year-on-year and 43.2 percent month-on-month, according to media reports.The impact of the epidemic and the impact on the economy is still very large, we wait for the economy to slowly recover.
Post time: Oct-11-2022