Australia’s Galaxy Resources reopens lithium mine for Chinese market as prices rise
Company looks to restore itself financially as demand strengthens for the material used to make batteries
The company is listed in Australia. It tried to float shares in Hong Kong in 2011 but withdrew the plan citing poor market conditions.
“Amid tightening supply, lithium concentrate prices have risen from around US$280 a tonne in 2012 to around US$600 as agreed in our recent sales contracts,” managing director Anthony Tse told the South China Morning Post this week on the sidelines of the annual Mines and Money conference in Hong Kong.
China’s annual lithium carbonate consumption of 70,000 tonnes is more than twice the combined amount of Japan and South Korea
Production at Mount Cattlin, with an annual output capacity of 137,000 tonnes of concentrate, was suspended for more than three years after the Australian dollar appreciated and the enterprise became economically unviable.