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Lithium Sector Sell-Off: The ASX-listed lithium stocks were under pressure overnight with PLS -22%, AKE -15%, IGO -12%, LTR -19%, LKE -13%, following the sell off in the North American-listed names yesterday with SLI -7%, LAC -15%, and SGML down 15.3% (see comp table below). The move lower came on the back of a competitor broker report, released earlier this week, claimed although the long-term prospects for the battery metals remains strong due to the rapid uptake of electric vehicles (EVs), investor enthusiasm has led to an oversupply. This is not the case, according to Canaccord Genuity Australian mining analyst Reg Spencer. “That oversupply in the market that Goldman Sachs is referring to is in lithium production from China lepidolite sources which is lower grade, difficult to process and more expensive to process in comparison to spodumene,” he said in a
press article released overnight. “I’ve been covering this sector for seven years and I can tell you supply always disappoints, especially from unconventional sources such as lepidolite that Goldman Sachs is referring to in their research report. “Lithium projects are always behind schedule, always, and to say that the world’s supply issues are going to be resolved in three years from unconventional resources, which means higher costs to produce and extract…I think is wrong.” While we are in an environment where there are more uncertain factors at play, Spencer says this is not a prolonged downturn. “It’s ridiculous, two months ago the market didn’t care about what was going to happen in 2023 but it is because of this report and reports by others including Credit Suisse, that everyone seems to be panicking and selling their shares. “But it is important to note that all we have seen so far is a fall in equities. “This is an equities market correction, if you have a look at the fundamentals of the lithium industry, they are still very strong.”