China’s lithium newcomer Zijin eyes rich returns from battery demand.
The head of China’s Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd said lithium prices now at record levels could halve by end-2025, telling theconference however the miner would still forge ahead with heavy investment in the sector.
Zou said more investments are planned, giving no details on how much the company was planning to spend. Zijin has a market capitalisation of about $35 billion and net profit of 15.7 billion yuan last year. “Of course there are concerns … but we will take full advantage of our technology and cost advantage to remain competitive,” Zou said.
That would cut as much as half from China’s current spot lithium carbonate battery grade prices, which according tosit at a record 597,500 yuan a tonne, about three times higher than they were a year ago.