Limited global capacity has driven up the price of the components derived from the metal for use in batteries. Read more here
“I’d like to once again urge entrepreneurs to enter the lithium refining business. The mining is relatively easy, the refining is much harder,” Tesla Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer Musk said on a Wednesday earnings call, adding there are software-like margins to be made in lithium processing. “You can’t lose, it’s a license to print money.”
Constraints on availability of lithium that have sent prices surging aren’t the result of scarcity of raw materials, but because of limited global capacity to deliver ultra-high purity battery-grade hydroxide and carbonate chemicals into battery supply chains, he said. Lithium carbonate prices in China have jumped almost 450 per cent in the past year.
Refining is “quite difficult and requires a massive amount of machinery and it’s a hard thing to scale,” Musk said. China accounts for more than half of all existing lithium refining capacity, though suppliers are adding projects in other hubs. Tianqi Lithium Corp. delivered its first batch from a new Australian operation in May.Article content
Financiers and producers have been wary of major spending on new refineries and mines to add capacity after a previous flood of investment swamped demand and triggered a years-long slump in prices through late 2020. Many materials suppliers were forced to slash output or delay projects, and some operations shuttered entirely.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
'Minting money': Musk touts prospects and need for investing more in lithium refiningLimited global capacity has driven up the price of the components derived from the metal for use in batteries. Read more here
Read more »
Tesla profit beats expectations; Musk says no demand problem
Read more »
Twitter gets a win over Musk with trial fast-tracked for October - BNN BloombergTwitter scored an early win against Elon Musk in its fight to make him complete his US$44 billion buyout, as a Delaware judge agreed to fast-track the case with an October trial date.
Read more »
Twitter, Elon Musk head to October trial over $44B dealTwitter Inc\u0027s lawsuit seeking to hold Elon Musk to his $44 billion takeover will go to trial in October, a Delaware judge ruled on Tuesday.
Read more »
Twitter, Elon Musk head to October trial over $44B dealTwitter Inc\u0027s lawsuit seeking to hold Elon Musk to his $44 billion takeover will go to trial in October, a Delaware judge ruled on Tuesday.
Read more »
'Entrepreneurs, enter the lithium refining business. It's a license to print money.' - Elon MuskA roundup of all the mining news in the precious metals sector with a variety of company news, mining sector analysis, newsletter writer insights and executive interviews.
Read more »