INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
opening price, and buyers promising hundreds of millions of dollars have walked without paying.China is the biggest producer of electric
vehicles and lithium is a key element in the batteries that power them
sales of licenses to mine the critical mineral will take place in the southwestern province of Yunnan next month
The local government has put five-year exploration rights to two projects in the cities of Kunming and Yuxi up for grabs, underscoring
fossil fuels.The auctions will be closely watched after heated competition drove up the price of two mines in neighboring Sichuan in August
A unit of Inner Mongolia Dazhong Mining Co
The auction drew more than 11,000 bids
The second mine in Jinchuan county fetched 1 billion yuan, with a subsidiary of Sichuan Energy Industry Investment Group paying nearly 1,800
inflated their number, according to the analysts
In addition, some firms entered the contest to ensure their future eligibility for other auctions, they said
It wants to expand both mining and processing as a dual insurance policy to counter geopolitical risks and protectionist moves around the
world to secure the supply of critical minerals
The US has stepped up efforts to build its own networks with allies like Canada and Australia
Some nations are also seeking to keep more revenue at home by adding processing plants that can raise the value of their lithium
meet setbacks due to political tensions and resource nationalism
concessions were canceled by Mexico
Last year, Canada ordered three Chinese companies to divest stakes in firms listed in Toronto under tougher rules for foreign investment
The backdrop is a roller-coaster in prices
Lithium carbonate, a refined form of the metal, has collapsed to 189,500 yuan a ton after a two-year rally took it to a record of 597,500
Still, it remains about four times higher than the historic low hit in 2020
Global demand, meanwhile, is expected to grow nearly five times by the end of the decade, according to BloombergNEF.The plunge in prices may
have accounted for the failure of an earlier auction in February, when a unit of Xinjiang Zhite New Materials Co won the exploration rights
to a mine in the autonomous region for 6 billion yuan, but then failed to follow through with payment
And a sale in May last year for a firm with a controlling stake in another lithium mine in Sichuan initially fell through after the winner
But the auction did attract nearly 1 million online viewers over the course of its five days
The upcoming sales in Yunnan will require bidders to place deposits once offers reach a certain level to avoid a repeat of the failed
