Tianqi Will bid for 23% stage of SQM Wall Street Journal
September 9, 2016
Lithium May Be ‘White Petroleum,’ But That Doesn’t Make It Gold - MoneyBeat - WSJ
https://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2016/09/09/lithium-may-be-white-petroleum-but-that-doesnt-make-it-gold/
Add one more metal to China’s global resource grab – lithium. Tianqi Lithium, China’s largest producer of the silver-white metal, known as “white petroleum” said Friday it intends to bid for a 23% stake in New York-listed Chilean rival Sociedad Qumica & Minera de Chile. Tianqi and SQM, together with North Carolina-based Albermale and Pennsylvania-based FMC, dominate the global lithium market.
Electric cars by Tesla and others are supposed to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, yet they are gobbling up this nonrenewable resource for lithium-ion batteries. Goldman Sachs estimated one Tesla Model S battery contains more lithium than 10,000 smartphones. Deutsche Bank expects lithium demand to nearly triple by 2025.
Tianqi sweeping up lithium supply may arouse worries that China could corner the market. There is, however, no shortage of the metal. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates there is 14 million tons of reserves of lithium globally, more than 400 years of supply based on last year’s production. Near-term prices have already been buoyed by expected demand. But the high prices go, the more lithium that will come to the surface.