The source of this article: Times Finance Author: Wei Yalin
With a total investment of more than 51.7 billion yuan, four industry giants have joined forces to win the lithium mine development project in Yuxi City, Yunnan Province.
On the evening of February 16, Yunnan's local chemical leading enterprise Yuntianhua (600096. SH) took the lead in issuing an announcement that the company, together with the Yuxi Municipal People's Government, Enjie Shares (002812. SZ), Ewell Lithium Energy (300014. SZ) and Zhejiang Huayou Holding Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Huayou Holdings") jointly signed the "New Energy Battery Whole Industry Chain Project Cooperation Agreement", stipulating that all parties will jointly mine mineral resources, conduct mineral deep processing, and develop, produce and sell new energy batteries and upstream and downstream materials for new energy batteries.
Subsequently, the other two listed companies also issued announcements.
The four enterprises are all first-class enterprises in the new energy industry chain.
Although Yuntianhua said in the announcement that there is currently no iron phosphate and lithium iron phosphate production capacity, it is the largest domestic phosphate mining and dressing listed enterprise. Yuntianhua announced on October 29, 2021 that it intends to build a new material precursor and supporting project for 500,000 tons/year iron phosphate battery.
Huayou Holdings is a 100 billion new energy material giant - Huayou Cobalt (603799. SH) is the largest shareholder.
According to the agreement, the total amount of the first and second phases of the project is 51.7 billion yuan, which will be completed by 2025; the third phase of the project is expected to be completed before 2030, and the framework agreement does not disclose the specific amount. Based on this estimate, the total investment in the third phase may be nearly 100 billion yuan.
Enjie shares also mentioned in the announcement that night, "jointly promote the formation of a 100-billion-level new energy battery whole industry chain cluster in Yuxi City." ”
What are the lithium ore reserves in Yuxi, Yunnan, and why attract the four giants to join forces to develop? Among the many hundreds of billions of new energy listed companies, why are these four entrants?
On February 17, the concept of A-share lithium battery rebounded strongly, Yuntianhua rose and stopped, Enjie shares rose by 1.83%, Ewell Lithium Energy rose by 3.15%, and Huayou Cobalt rose by 4.93%.
"World-class" small stone bridge lithium mine
Compared with the "lithium triangle" in South America and the salt lake on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China, the lithium resource reserves of Yuxi City in Yunnan Province will not be revealed to the world until 2020.
According to a previous report by Science and Technology Daily, on July 10, 2020, in a corn and potato field 4 kilometers northeast of the Yi Township Government in Xiaoshiqiao, Yuxi City, researchers laid an exploration drill and obtained a core in less than 10 minutes. The subsequent scientific demonstration survey was shocking, and from here it extended to 3,800 square kilometers of land in central Yunnan, and the amount of lithium oxide resources was as high as 4.89 million tons.
Li Shihua, director of the Yuxi Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, once said that the average grade of lithium ore in central Yunnan is about 0.3%, up to 1.02%, according to the relevant evaluation standards, the average grade of 0.2% is economic mining value; in addition, the ore layer is buried shallowly, some directly on the surface, and even open pit mining.
Zhao Haibo, deputy director of the Department of Science and Technology of Yunnan Province, looked forward in an interview with the media that the development of lithium resources in Yunnan is expected to develop into a pillar industry of 100 billion yuan in the future.
In November 2020, the Yunnan Provincial Investment Promotion Bureau gave the planning of the lithium resources project in Yuxi City in a investment promotion document. The development of lithium resources in Hongta District, Yuxi City will be carried out in three phases, covering a total area of 9,200 mu, with an estimated total investment of 100 billion yuan.
However, some insiders told Times Finance that for enterprises, the development of lithium mines in Yunnan should also consider economic factors, and enterprises need to invest a lot of money in the early stage.
Image source: Yunnan Investment Promotion Network
On February 17, Times Finance called the relevant listed companies separately to inquire whether the framework agreement signed with the Yuxi Municipal Government was a lithium resource development project in Hongta District, Yuxi City.
Among them, the staff of Enjie shares said that it cannot be disclosed at present, and the announcement information shall prevail.
The staff of Ewell Lithium Energy also did not directly admit it.
On the same day, a lithium battery industry analyst speculated to Times Finance that the framework agreement signed by the four companies and the Yuxi Municipal Government may include not only the above-mentioned Xiaoshiqiao lithium mine, but also other mines.
The significance of the discovery of lithium ore in central Yunnan does not stop at Yuxi in Yunnan. According to a paper published by the joint research team of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, East China University of Technology and Kunming University of Science and Technology at the end of 2019, the central Yunnan lithium mine verified the mineralization potential of the new type of resource "carbonate clay lithium deposit", and there are many areas in the mainland with this favorable mineralization condition, so it is expected to become a new important source of lithium resources in the mainland.
Source: Science Bulletin, No. 1, 2020
Yuxi's dream of 100 billion lithium industry chain
According to the project plan given by the Yunnan Provincial Investment Promotion Bureau in March 2021, the development of lithium resources in Hongta District of Yuxi City will be carried out in three phases, with an estimated total investment of 100 billion yuan. The content of the framework agreement announced by the listed company on February 17 also shows that the investment in the first two phases of the project has reached 51.7 billion yuan.
Times Finance noted that the regional GDP of Yuxi City, where the project is located, will be 235.230 billion yuan in 2021; among them, the regional GDP of Hongta District of Yuxi City in 2021 will be 101.2 billion yuan, breaking through 100 billion yuan for the first time. If the lithium resource development project can be landed, it will bring leaps and bounds to the local economy.
Yuxi introduced four industry leaders, including Yuntianhua and Enjie shares, in fact, there are already clues. In November 2020, only 4 months after the exploration of Xiaoshiqiao, the Yunnan Provincial Investment Promotion Bureau announced the "Yuxi Hongta District Lithium Resources Comprehensive Development and Utilization Construction Project - New Energy Vehicle Lithium Battery Supporting Project" on the investment promotion platform.
In July 2021, Snowball netizens discussed in a post which Yunnan state-owned enterprise company would be handed over to the Yunnan state-owned enterprise company for development, of which Yuntianhua had the highest voice, in addition, Guiyan Platinum (600459. SH), Yunnan Copper (000878. SZ), Tin Industry Co., Ltd. (000960. SZ) and others have been named by investors.
Image source: Snowball
On October 27, 2021, the Yuxi Municipal Government signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with enjie Shares, a local listed company, and the two sides agreed to build a new energy battery industry chain industry system based on power batteries, energy storage batteries and consumer battery manufacturing in Yuxi within 3 to 5 years, and build a first-class lithium battery industry base in China.
It is worth noting that in this framework agreement, Yuxi City said that it will identify municipal state-owned enterprises as the main body of investment, and Enjie shares will use industry influence and resources to "introduce well-known first-class enterprises in the upstream and downstream industrial chains of new energy and new materials industry." "Judging from the framework agreement signed on February 16, the content of the previously signed agreement has basically been achieved.
Image source: Enjie shares announcement
Entering 2022, the development of lithium resources in Yuxi City has accelerated significantly. On January 25, ChangJianghua, deputy secretary of the Yuxi Municipal Party Committee and mayor of Yuxi, clearly stated in the government work report that he looked forward to 2022, "Accelerate the preliminary work of lithium resource exploration, promote the construction of new energy battery projects, plan and build Yuxi lithium and nickel industrial park, strive to introduce more than 5 industrial chain head enterprises, extend the development of lithium battery industry, and the output value of new energy power equipment reaches 5 billion yuan." ”
If according to the mayor of Yuxi, the signing of four head enterprises still does not meet the planning of Yuxi City, or in 2022, more than one industrial chain head enterprise will continue to be introduced. How far the lithium battery industry chain in Yunnan can go is worth continuing to look forward to.