https://benchmarkminerals.com/a-new-era-for-commodities-as-sustained-lithium-price-run-marks-onset-of-ev-demand-benchmark-minerals/ Prices of lithium carbonate, a key lithium-ion battery raw material, have increased nearly 40% in the last 12 months as a wave of global electric vehicle (EV) production begins to have a sustained impact on the industry.
Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s Lithium Carbonate South America (99%, FOB) price – a region which accounts for 68% of global lithium carbonate production – has increased from $11,500/tonne in June 2017 to a mid-point average of $15,750/tonne in Benchmark’s latest Lithium Price Assessment. (For full ranges see below).
UNDERSTANDING LITHIUM PRICES:
It is important to understand that there is no one lithium price but a selection of grades and price mechanisms produced by Benchmark that the industry uses.
The prices cited in this article are mid-points of the following price ranges:
• Lithium carbonate, FOB S. America: $14,500-$17,000/tonne
• Lithium hydroxide, FOB N. America: $16,500-$18,000/tonne
• Lithium carbonate, EXW China (Battery Grade): $20,000-$22,000/tonne
• Lithium hydroxide, EXW China: $21,000-$25,000/tonne