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The world's leading producer of lithium hydroxide, which has higher prices and demand than lithium carbonate produced in Chile.
The world's largest lithium producer plans to increase production in Australia to target the market of a particular form of this metal, increasingly used by manufacturers of batteries for electric cars.
Albemarle will halt plans to expand lithium carbonate production in Chile, the company said Thursday. Instead, he will use funds for a project in Western Australia producing lithium hydroxide, a rarer metal form, currently in use and sold at prices higher than those of carbonate. . According to Bloomberg NEF, lithium in general will triple by 2025, while automakers such as Tesla are looking to increase sales of battery-powered vehicles. Meanwhile, lithium miners are struggling to keep up with demand and metal prices have tripled in just four years.
"The challenge at this stage of the cycle is that lithium companies need to increase their capital in the midst of uncertainties over the price of lithium," said Chris Berry, a New York-based badyst and founder of the lithium-based company. House Mountain Partners research. "In order for Albemarle to maintain its market share with such a strong growth in lithium demand, the company must execute its capacity expansion plans perfectly."
Albemarle plans to increase its total lithium production in its operations in Chile China and Australia to 225,000 tons per year in 2025, compared to 65,000 tons in 2017, the company said in its report on results. In less than four years, lithium has become Albemarle's least important product to account for 44.5% of the company's revenue in 2017.
Tuesday, the Charlotte, Carolina-based company North, released mixed results for the third quarter that caused a 1.8% decline in its shares at 1:45 pm in New York. Capital spending rose to record levels, but Albemarle did not meet its sales estimates.
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