RE:A multi-commodity outlook from PDAC 2024 Commodity outlook: Lithium
Eric Zaunscherb, chairman of Critical Elements Lithium, joined Stockhouse from the company’s booth at PDAC 2024 to weigh in on the state of the global lithium market.
“Obviously, we’ve seen a big contraction in lithium prices. A big reason behind this is how the industry in indexed. Because there’s a lack of transparency in the industry, with most lithium being transacted on a contract basis, the spot prices that people see aren’t representative. We’re also seeing a lot of de-stocking in the industry, particularly of lower-quality product in China, with the intention of driving the price of lithium down and minimizing competition. All of this leads to a very opaque market on the supply side.
“On the demand side, the media focuses on the pullbacks we’re seeing, particularly in North American OEMs. But the reality is that we’re seeing other OEMs, especially in China, grabbing market share. I would suggest to you that growth is still extremely strong for EV demand, with massive downstream investments and off-take agreements to lock in lithium feed moving forward.”