The Australian sharemarket fell on Tuesday as a fall in consumer confidence and the Reserve Bank’s determination to pin down inflation weighed on investor sentiment.
Lithium,the soft,silvery-white metal at the heart of the clean energy shift,is in hot demand these days. But the companies mining it have endured a tumultuous few years.
Over the past three years,Pilbara Minerals has gone from treading water to becoming a $14 billion company at the forefront of Australia’s battery boom.
Rio Tinto’s Western Range will produce 25 million tonnes a year of the steel-making ingredient if the miner’s UK and Australian shareholders approve the deal.
Lynas says a rapidly increasing shift to electric vehicles and wind energy has prompted it to expand its Western Australian mine.
Livista Energy,which has secured financial backing from the British government,is seeking expand Europe and UK’s lithium refining capacity to ensure supply to EV makers and battery cell producers.
Producers of battery metals and specialist chemicals for electric vehicles are outpacing carmakers like Tesla in the stock market as prices of key commodities climb.
While smaller mining businesses struggle to find workers due to border closures,large profitable companies in the industry are holding onto staff through culture and cash.
Pilbara Minerals managing director and chief executive Ken Brinsden says ‘dinosaurs’ in the industry need to be rehabbed and not just sent down the road to other companies.
Renewed optimism about the electric vehicle revolution and strengthening sales in China and Europe are sending the share prices of lithium producers like Pilbara Minerals soaring.
The ASX-listed miner expects demand to pick up as electric carmakers expand production and governments unleash"green"stimulus packages across the world.