Talison to restrict supply of lithium - June 14The head of the world's biggest lithium producer says global demand will not be enough to justify new mines until the second half of the decade.For that reason, Talison Lithium chief executive Peter Oliver said the company, in the midst of expanding its Greenbushes mine south of Perth, would not run at full capacity once the expansion was completed in the first quarter of next year. He said he believed that many new lithium projects proposed worldwide would require higher prices than the market was demonstrating to be viable. That included Talison's Salares project in Chile, which it acquired through its takeover of Toronto-listed Salares Lithium. Lithium has long been used in consumer electronics but in the past couple of years it has attracted investor interest because lithium ion batteries power many electric and hybrid cars. Talison is doubling production capacity at Greenbushes to 740,0000 tonnes a year of lithium concentrate, or 110,000tpa lithium carbonate equivalent. It is also investigating building a chemical plant in Australia to produce battery-grade lithium. Elsewhere in WA, Galaxy Resources produces lithium from its Mt Cattlin project near Ravensthorpe, while Reed Resources and Mineral Resources are jointly developing the Mt Marion lithium project, 40km south-west of Kalgoorlie-Boulder https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/business/a/-/wa/9635007/talison-to-restrict-supply-of-lithium/
------------------ IF global demand is not there N the top 3 dominate WTF for Talison Lithium ----------------
Lithium Pipeline Projects cannot beat the Existing Lithium Chemical Big Three.” Lithium consultants TRU Group Inc says that its updated lithium supply-demand forecast 2020 slideshow has been uploaded to its website trugroup.com. The outlook is shocking. The seemingly unstoppable supply growth will cause such huge overcapacity that the stability of the industry will be threatened. Pipeline projects and expansions could increase capacity by about 40,000 tpy Li-contained in the next decade – double what the industry needs. Existing lithium chemical producers have the in-ground resources and ability to meet nearly all market requirements by expanding capacity. On the lithium chemicals demand side there has been some recovery in 2010 from recent dramatic declines. Demand and prices will continue weak this year. TRU president Edward R Anderson will tell the IM Toronto 3rd Lithium Supply & Markets conference: “Lithium carbonate prices fell precipitately to $4500 per t in 2010 and will remain depressed. Long term there is no market-driven upward-price pressure so prices will remain stable and likely below $5000 per t”. Lower prices and fierce competition through 2020 is bad news for the lithium new project promoters who will find it impossible to compete against the distinctive natural cost advantage of brine-based producers Chemetall-SCL, FMC and SQM. “Only a select few new projects could make it into profitable production and then only as marginal suppliers. Bottom line is if you do have a good resource make sure you also have the strongest possible lithium technical capability to develop it”. TRU’s veteran lithium geologist Dr Ihor I. Kunasz is also presenting. He will explain the technical reasons as to why existing producers have a natural advantage. Ihor Kunasz says: “It’s simple, the existing players have three times the lithium concentration and also reserves that dwarf any of the new players. In addition SQM by far the world’s largest lithium supplier has for many years re-injected excess lithium produced into the Salar de Atacama adding to the lithium resource of the salar”. Kunasz is well known as the geologist who developed the original reserve model at Atacama from whence 60% of the world’s lithium is currently produced.
-----------------------makes one think differently about Investing in lithium stocks-----------------
GLTA