Due to the different development conditions, the production capacity is not replicable, the expansion cycle is long, the capital expenditure is large, and it is subject to the policy restrictions of some countries, and the acquisition and control of lithium resources is also very difficult. Therefore, ensuring the supply of resources is of high strategic significance, and the war around resources is becoming more and more fierce.
In 2020, China's lithium raw material output accounted for only 24% of the global proportion, the basic lithium salt smelting capacity is as high as 69% of the world, China has mastered the vast majority of the world's lithium processing capacity, but the self-supply capacity of lithium resources is obviously insufficient, and the self-supply rate of raw materials in 2020 is only 32%. #锂 #
Self-sufficiency rate of local lithium enterprises (%)
Source: Guojin Securities
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="22" > Mica lithium extraction: a strategic supplement to domestic lithium resources</h1>
According to the existence of lithium resources, lithium extraction technology can be divided into ore lithium extraction and salt lake lithium extraction, of which ore lithium extraction is divided into lithium spodum and lithium mica extraction.
Lithium ore extraction and salt lake lithium extraction are suitable for different types of raw materials, different production processes, and different grades of lithium salt products.
China's salt lake lithium resources accounted for more than 80%, of which the resources in Qinghai region were 3.1004 million tons, 2.223 million tons in Tibet, and 506,100 tons in Hubei. Spodumene accounted for 10.9%, and the resources in Sichuan were 760,000 tons. Lithium mica accounted for 7.5%, 342,000 tons in Jiangxi and 165,000 tons in Hunan.
With the optimization of China's lithium mica lithium extraction process in recent years, lithium mica has achieved large-scale production, and its advantages of abundant reserves and low raw ore cost have gradually emerged, and the development of lithium mica lithium will become a strategic need of China.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="44" > Lithium mica: Resources are king, the mineral resource advantages of lithium mica have begun to appear</h1>
Lithium mica is a layered aluminosilicate mineral, lithium mica concentrate after mining Li2O content is usually 2.0 ~ 3.5%, often containing rubidium, cesium and so on. Raw ore grades are low, typically 0.3%-0.6%.
The world's lithium mica resources are mainly distributed in Zimbabwe, Canada, the United States, Mexico and China. Among them, China's lithium mica resources are mainly distributed in Yichun, Jiangxi, Zhengchong and Jianfengling in Hunan, and Chestnut in Guangxi.
Jiangxi Yichun enjoys the reputation of "Asia's first lithium capital". Located on the Top of the Tonggu-Yifeng-Fengxin-Gao'an Mineralization Belt, it houses the world's largest polymetallic associated lithium mica mine.
According to the Disclosure of Yichun Municipal Government, the current lithium mica resources in Yichun area have 6.29 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent, but because most of the mines have only done small-area exploration, the unexplored part has not been reported, so the reserves are expected to be further improved in the future with the further deepening of exploration.
Yichun State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) previously established Yichun Mining Company as a lithium mica resource integration storage platform in Yichun City, which conducts unified management of mines in the city and controls nearly 20 lithium-containing mines in Yichun City through wholly-owned or shareholding.
Yichun has the world's largest lithium mica mine "Yichun tantalum niobium ore" (414 mine), the amount of resources equivalent to lithium carbonate equivalent of 2.713 million tons, is also the main lithium resources being mined and utilized in China.
Yichun Lithium-containing Mines are concentrated, of which Xinfang Township is dominated by 414 ore, with resource reserves of 140 million tons and a grade of 0.38%; Huaqiao Township is mainly Huashan Porcelain Stone Mine in Yongxing and Huaqiao Dagang Porcelain Mine in Feiyu, with a total resource reserve of 137 million tons and a grade of 0.39% to 0.51%; Tong'an Township is dominated by The Shiziling Mine in Jiangte, and the Shiziling Mine is part of the Xikeng Mine, and the Xikeng has not been fully explored. According to the exploration data of the second phase of Xikeng (the exploration area is 1.7 square kilometers, about 16% of the area of Xikeng), the resources of Xikeng 332+333+334 total 110 million tons, with a grade of 0.46% lithium oxide.
Source: Minmetals Securities
The lithium mica lithium extraction capacity in Jiangxi has begun to take shape, and under the stimulation of the high price of lithium carbonate, the output has the impetus to accelerate the release, but it is still subject to the supply of resources.
At present, there are four enterprises in Yichun, Jiangxi with mica lithium extraction technology and mature production lines, namely Yongxing Materials, Jiangte Motor, Nan's Lithium Battery and Feiyu New Energy.
Among them, in addition to nan's lithium battery lithium resources mainly rely on the purchase of yichun tantalum niobium ore (414) concentrate, the other three mainly rely on their own mine supply.
Yongxing Materials has 10,000 tons and plans to reach 30,000 tons of mica lithium extraction capacity; Nan's lithium battery has 60,000 tons of mica lithium extraction capacity; Jiangte Motor has 15,000 tons of mica lithium extraction and 15,000 tons of spodumene lithium extraction capacity, and is currently planning to carry out compatibility transformation of spodumene lithium extraction production line, and its mica lithium extraction capacity will be gradually increased to more than 20,000 tons / year; Feiyu New Energy has a capacity of 20,000 tons of mica lithium extraction, and plans to achieve a long-term production capacity of 40,000 tons of lithium carbonate per year.
According to the future development plan of each company, the production capacity of Yongxing Materials continues to expand, and it is expected that 10,000 tons of lithium carbonate production capacity will be put into operation at the end of Q3 2021 and the end of Q1 2022; the future expansion plan of Jiangte Motor will focus on the spodumene production line planned in the early stage, and the compatible transformation of the spodumene production line, so as to switch to lithium mica to produce lithium carbonate in the case of insufficient spodumene resources; Nanshi lithium battery has built a production line of 60,000 tons, and the future production capacity will continue to climb; Feiyu New Energy has no expansion plan.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="27" > the optimization of the lithium mica extraction process, and the resource advantages began to appear</h1>
The lithium mica lithium extraction method mainly includes lime roasting method, sulfuric acid roasting method, sulfate roasting method, chlorination roasting method and pressing method.
Previously, lithium mica faced natural limitations such as complex composition and low grade, resulting in difficulties in refining and difficulty in producing lithium carbonate quality to reach the battery level.
With the major breakthroughs in mica lithium extraction technology in 2018 and 2019, the large-scale production and further upgrading of technology in 2020, and the deduction of high value-added products such as potassium, rubidium and cesium produced by superimposed mineral processing, the cost of lithium extraction has now decreased significantly.
At present, the four major mica lithium extraction enterprises (Yongxing Materials, Nan's Lithium Battery, Feiyu New Energy, Jiangte Motor) have achieved the transformation of the core lithium extraction process, that is, from sulfuric acid leaching method to sulfate roasting method, and the fluorine fixation process has made a breakthrough, which has completely solved the problem of equipment corrosion. The average production cost of the industry has dropped from the previous 100,000 yuan / ton to the current 35,000-45,000 yuan / ton.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="37" > downstream lithium battery giants enter the game and open a battle for lithium mica resources</h1>
In order to maintain the stable supply of upstream lithium resources, global battery factories, OEMs and materials companies have intensified the war around the materials of upstream resources.
Among the global power battery manufacturers in 2020, CATL accounts for 24.6% of the share, Guoxuan Hi-Tech occupies 2.2% of the share, and among domestic power battery manufacturers, CATL occupies 50% of the share, and Guoxuan Hi-Tech occupies 5.2% of the share.
Ningde has previously invested in the Canadian Lithium Company, subscribed to the equity of Australian lithium miner Pilbara, and established a complete and substantial upstream raw material layout layout from lithium resources (including lithium ore and recycling two channels), lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, ternary precursors, lithium iron phosphate and ternary materials through a series of capital operations and long orders with Glencore, North American Lithium, Grimme, etc. In May 2021, Yu Xiuming, secretary of the Yichun Municipal Party Committee, led a team to Fujian Ningde Times New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. for study and inspection.
According to the announcement, Guoxuan Hi-Tech signed a "Cooperation Agreement" with Yichun Mining Co., Ltd. on March 24, 2021, and the two parties jointly invested 100 million yuan to establish a joint venture company, Yichun Guoxuan Mining Co., Ltd. Among them, Guoxuan Hi-Tech accounts for 51% of the registered capital of the joint venture company; Yichun Mining accounts for 49% of the registered capital of the joint venture.
Guoxuan Hi-Tech signed an investment cooperation agreement with Yichun Economic Development Zone to build a lithium battery industrial park project in Yichun, including the extraction, processing and application of lithium carbonate resources, and simultaneously promote industrialization projects such as research and development and manufacturing of lithium batteries, and lithium salt production capacity is expected to be further increased in the future.