Post #4472729

'The price they receive for their spodumene has recovered strongly over the last 12 months, after a deep and long price crash that saw at least three Australian lithium mines mothballed between 2022 and 2025. 'Recently, a small number of WA lithium miners have started to perform another step of processing in Australia, turning their spodumene into a finished battery-grade ingredient, traded on a separate market to spodumene. 'Another lithium miner, Liontown, has also established a "downstream collaboration agreement to investigate the establishment of an IRA-compliant lithium refinery" to produce refined lithium from spodumene concentrate mined at its Kathleen Valley project. 'But LFP [Li-F-P] batteries are cheaper to make [than Ni-Co-Mn], considered safer and favoured in less expensive EVs, and recent innovations have improved range and charge time. 'Nickel-based cathodes dominated the EV market until last year, when LFP production overtook them ... 'These [Na ion] batteries replace lithium ions with sodium ions. Sodium is cheaper to source and available all over the globe. 'Albemarle's Ken Masters said rising spodumene prices and state government support could not offset the high operating costs of the Kemerton refinery. '... Australia's aging refining infrastructure needed more investment in innovation. 'Chinese economic clustering, energy costs, labour costs and most importantly, the experience that they have in producing a downstream lithium chemical, is almost unbeatable in the world today ...' https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-07/australian-lithium-miners-domestic-refineries/106619924