Each week our High Voltage column wraps all the news driving ASX battery metals stocks with exposure to lithium, cobalt, graphite, manganese and vanadium.

 

INDUSTRY FOCUS

Unexpected EV subsidy changes, vague model launch dates, as well as macro events like trade wars makes forecasting lithium supply and demand a difficult task, writes battery metals researcher and corporate advisor Rodney Hooper.

But Hooper is clear on this – in 2023 there will only be enough battery quality lithium available to meet the equivalent of Tesla’s (1.32 million) and VW’s (1.9 million) EV sales targets.

There will be no lithium chemical supply remaining for anyone else, Hooper says, which is a problem because we know that carmakers will be rolling out about 400 to 500 EV models globally by 2023.

This shortfall will be a paticular problem for European original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), who are staring down the barrel of some pretty hectic C02 liabilities if they don’t go EV by ~2021.

In an environment where low lithium prices are prompting chemical convertors to postpone production increases, Hooper says battery manufacturers and car makers are shooting themselves in the collective foot for short term gain.

“OEMs continue to push for lower battery cell and pack prices to make EV sales profitable,” he writes.

“This is understandable given the high capital costs associated with a shift in production platforms from ICE [internal combustion engines] to EVs.

“Scale is central to the ‘learning curve’ and lower battery costs; however, whilst raw material cost containment also plays a role, lithium is the ‘irreplaceable element’ of a Li-ion battery and if OEMs are hoping to pay $10,000/t instead of $12,000/t, thereby saving ~$1.70 per kWh they may pay a higher price in the future in the form of CO2 emission penalties and higher lithium prices.”

READ: China will have 1 million electric buses on the road by 2023

This week marks the start of the Australian leg of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s 5th annual World Tour.

Price reporting agency Benchmark was passionate about the EV thematic before it was cool.

Now, they are considered the yardstick for everything lithium-ion battery to EV supply chain-related – all the other reporting agencies are just competing for second place.

Stockhead will head down this Friday to find out where battery metals prices are going. Stay tuned.

 

SMALL CAP SPOTLIGHT

Our contingent of ASX-listed lithium producers bounced back this week after a prolonged hammering – led by Altura Mining (ASX:AJM) +15%, Galaxy Resources (ASX:GXY) +2%, Orocobre (ASX:ORE) +3%, and Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) +2%. May it continue.

AVZ Minerals (ASX:AVZ) was up 8% after announcing a definitive feasibility study (DFS) for its monster Manono lithium and tin project in the Democratic Republic of Congo would be completed in early 2020.

Also up on no news was advanced lithium plays Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) +15%, and ioneer (ASX:INR) +10%.

At the other end of the spectrum was embattled graphite producer Syrah Resources (ASX:SYR), which turned heads with another production downgrade.

Syrah pointed to a significant build-up of inventory in the Chinese market, which is now affecting price negotiations and contract renewals.

The net result was a “sudden and material decrease” in the weighted average price for natural flake graphite, to $US400/t ($583/t) from $US457/t in the June quarter.

In response, Syrah announced it would be cutting production to reduce costs. The share price slumped by around 30 per cent, leading a wave of selling across ASX-listed graphite stocks last week.

But if you’re worried, here’s a tip from our friends at Benchmark:

Here’s a table of ASX battery metal stocks with exposure to lithium, cobalt, graphite, manganese and vanadium>>>

Scroll or swipe to reveal table. Click headings to sort. Best viewed on a laptop:

Ticker Name Price (intraday Monday 16th) 1 Week Total Return % 1 Year Total Return % Market Cap
GPP GREENPOWER ENERGY 0.001 50 -63 $ 2,302,245.25
MEI METEORIC RESOURCES 0.064 36 156 $ 57,109,112.00
MZN MARINDI METALS 0.13 30 -63 $ 9,593,382.00
MLS METALS AUSTRALIA 0.0025 25 -29 $ 5,854,395.50
PNN PEPINNINI LITHIUM 0.003 25 -67 $ 3,714,035.25
AZI ALTA ZINC 0.003 20 -34 $ 5,464,903.00
LML LINCOLN MINERALS 0.006 20 -70 $ 3,449,902.00
BOA BOADICEA RESOURCES 0.19 19 100 $ 9,173,298.00
4CE FORCE COMMODITIES 0.02 18 -51 $ 9,137,786.00
LTR LIONTOWN RESOURCES 0.097 15 270 $ 164,401,712.00
AJM ALTURA MINING 0.083 15 -66 $ 176,735,152.00
ADV ARDIDEN 0.004 14 -64 $ 8,452,601.00
HIP HIPO RESOURCES 0.009 13 -40 $ 3,478,594.00
RMX RED MOUNTAIN MINING 0.005 11 -29 $ 3,890,184.00
BAT BATTERY MINERALS 0.01 11 -64 $ 11,862,824.00
IEC INTRA ENERGY 0.011 10 22 $ 3,877,240.25
INR IONEER 0.165 10 -48 $ 243,372,272.00
THR THOR MINING 0.012 9 -54 $ 9,859,762.00
LI3 LITHIUM CONSOLIDATED 0.049 9 -44 $ 4,834,009.00
GED GOLDEN DEEPS 0.025 9 -38 $ 6,145,822.50
AVZ AVZ MINERALS 0.053 8 -45 $ 119,815,720.00
GME GME RESOURCES 0.069 6 -10 $ 31,387,062.00
MIN MINERAL RESOURCES 14.3 6 -3 $ 2,684,166,656.00
TMT TECHNOLOGY METALS AUSTRALIA 0.18 6 -67 $ 14,884,208.00
MZZ MATADOR MINING 0.28 6 -5 $ 27,116,146.00
PM1 PURE MINERALS 0.019 6 58 $ 8,481,752.00
CHN CHALICE GOLD MINES 0.195 5 93 $ 50,702,604.00
EMH EUROPEAN METALS 0.3 5 -17 $ 44,488,624.00
CXO CORE LITHIUM 0.04 5 -5 $ 31,546,266.00
HNR HANNANS 0.0105 5 -25 $ 20,873,522.00
NWC NEW WORLD COBALT 0.022 5 -62 $ 17,768,244.00
IDA INDIANA RESOURCES 0.024 4 -50 $ 3,404,338.00
EUC EUROPEAN COBALT 0.024 4 -61 $ 18,280,736.00
JMS JUPITER MINES 0.3975 4 43 $ 764,006,528.00
AXE ARCHER EXPLORATION 0.135 4 65 $ 26,607,390.00
AUZ AUSTRALIAN MINES 0.03 4 -37 $ 96,452,792.00
ORE OROCOBRE 2.58 3 -31 $ 701,297,216.00
BSX BLACKSTONE MINERALS 0.175 3 62 $ 27,362,310.00
ASN ANSON RESOURCES 0.04 3 -57 $ 22,798,548.00
GXY GALAXY RESOURCES 1.14 2 -55 $ 458,616,864.00
CAZ CAZALY RESOURCES 0.049 2 52 $ 17,195,664.00
CRL COMET RESOURCES 0.026 2 -21 $ 7,215,000.00
NZC NZURI COPPER 0.295 2 15 $ 85,812,592.00
BKT BLACK ROCK MINING 0.065 2 123 $ 42,333,456.00
PLS PILBARA MINERALS 0.335 2 -56 $ 671,059,392.00
PAN PANORAMIC RESOURCES 0.3 2 -36 $ 165,118,560.00
AGY ARGOSY MINERALS 0.081 1 -68 $ 81,160,168.00
KDR KIDMAN RESOURCES 1.9 0 50 $ 767,091,072.00
TNG TNG 0.09 0 -33 $ 104,582,696.00
CNJ CONICO 0.01 0 -62 $ 3,843,982.25
CZN CORAZON MINING 0.003 0 -57 $ 4,892,066.00
MTC METALSTECH 0.019 0 -75 $ 2,222,123.75
HRZ HORIZON MINERALS 0.135 0 -4 $ 59,916,528.00
JRL JINDALEE RESOURCES 0.32 0 12 $ 12,318,161.00
LPD LEPIDICO 0.022 0 12 $ 83,574,696.00
E25 ELEMENT 25 0.17 0 9 $ 17,002,846.00
CGM COUGAR METALS 0.001 0 -67 $ 1,176,583.25
SVD SCANDIVANADIUM 0.01 0 -61 $ 3,518,661.00
AVL AUSTRALIAN VANADIUM 0.0135 0 -69 $ 27,633,814.00
RLC REEDY LAGOON CORP 0.004 0 -64 $ 1,609,086.88
BDI BLINA MINERALS 0.001 0 -33 $ 4,593,882.50
TAR TARUGA MINERALS 0.025 0 -67 $ 4,235,017.00
KOR KORAB RESOURCES 0.021 0 -38 $ 6,343,989.50
NXE NEW ENERGY MINERALS 0.024 0 -73 $ 3,822,386.00
RIE RIEDEL RESOURCES 0.012 0 -60 $ 5,016,836.50
SUH SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE MINING 0.025 0 -59 $ 2,211,736.75
DHR DARK HORSE RESOURCES 0.004 0 -50 $ 8,098,486.50
SI6 SIX SIGMA METALS 0.004 0 -50 $ 2,580,012.50
AEE AURA ENERGY 0.008 0 -70 $ 8,843,840.00
POW PROTEAN ENERGY 0.007 0 -75 $ 2,180,060.75
SYA SAYONA MINING 0.009 0 -72 $ 18,497,974.00
LRS LATIN RESOURCES 0.018 0 -86 $ 2,802,584.25
DGR DGR GLOBAL 0.082 0 -32 $ 50,280,912.00
AMD ARROW MINERALS 0.011 0 -45 $ 9,285,524.00
DTM DART MINING 0.006 0 -14 $ 6,104,257.00
AML AEON METALS 0.145 0 -60 $ 87,629,064.00
MNS MAGNIS ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES 0.165 0 -54 $ 100,837,440.00
SRN SUREFIRE RESOURCES 0.011 0 22 $ 5,031,536.50
ANW AUS TIN MINING 0.007 0 -63 $ 13,544,121.00
PSM PENINSULA MINES 0.003 0 -57 $ 3,038,616.25
BPL BROKEN HILL PROSPECTING 0.025 0 -63 $ 3,697,085.00
FEL FE 0.014 0 -30 $ 6,841,822.50
NMT NEOMETALS 0.175 0 -27 $ 97,998,880.00
CHK COHIBA MINERALS 0.012 0 50 $ 8,639,985.00
SO4 SALT LAKE POTASH 0.84 0 75 $ 225,268,544.00
BSM BASS METALS 0.008 0 -69 $ 22,478,996.00
KSN KINGSTON RESOURCES 0.018 0 -14 $ 31,786,570.00
ARE ARGONAUT RESOURCES 0.005 0 -79 $ 7,771,903.00
HWK HAWKSTONE MINING 0.016 0 -36 $ 10,354,770.00
MTB MOUNT BURGESS MINING 0.0015 0 -70 $ 780,194.06
LCD LATITUDE CONSOLIDATED 0.016 0 -30 $ 4,402,864.00
TKL TRAKA RESOURCES 0.012 0 -60 $ 4,805,555.50
BYH BRYAH RESOURCES 0.081 -1 -30 $ 5,230,821.50
LPI LITHIUM POWER INTERNATIONAL 0.365 -1 32 $ 97,130,144.00
ARL ARDEA RESOURCES 0.625 -2 8 $ 71,866,784.00
POS POSEIDON NICKEL 0.058 -2 16 $ 145,348,608.00
TON TRITON MINERALS 0.04 -3 -13 $ 38,012,664.00
FGR FIRST GRAPHENE 0.185 -3 12 $ 87,822,520.00
HXG HEXAGON RESOURCES 0.071 -3 -49 $ 22,175,538.00
TLG TALGA RESOURCES 0.405 -4 -29 $ 87,751,800.00
WML WOOMERA MINING 0.024 -4 -68 $ 3,347,013.50
SEI SPECIALITY METALS 0.048 -4 207 $ 49,136,480.00
PSC PROSPECT RESOURCES 0.115 -4 -57 $ 27,134,452.00
LIT LITHIUM AUSTRALIA 0.046 -4 -58 $ 25,110,776.00
LKE LAKE RESOURCES 0.042 -5 -54 $ 21,989,414.00
MLL MALI LITHIUM 0.105 -5 -67 $ 27,773,562.00
PLL PIEDMONT LITHIUM 0.105 -5 -33 $ 85,614,936.00
KNL KIBARAN RESOURCES 0.1 -5 -47 $ 26,335,888.00
BEM BLACKEARTH MINERALS 0.056 -5 -59 $ 5,796,431.50
GPX GRAPHEX MINING 0.18 -5 -16 $ 18,116,138.00
COB COBALT BLUE 0.175 -5 -62 $ 26,232,940.00
CLA CELSIUS RESOURCES 0.017 -6 -85 $ 13,629,925.00
PGM PLATINA RESOURCES 0.033 -6 -70 $ 8,716,166.00
SVM SOVEREIGN METALS 0.093 -6 16 $ 34,490,272.00
CUL CULLEN RESOURCES 0.015 -6 -28 $ 2,541,972.50
RNU RENASCOR RESOURCES 0.015 -6 -21 $ 16,147,941.00
GLN GALAN LITHIUM 0.195 -7 -19 $ 28,326,866.00
HAV HAVILAH RESOURCES 0.125 -7 -36 $ 27,281,132.00
CLQ CLEAN TEQ HOLDINGS 0.3125 -8 -36 $ 235,134,960.00
MLM METALLICA MINERALS 0.012 -8 -63 $ 3,888,569.00
JRV JERVOIS MINING 0.225 -8 -18 $ 153,991,840.00
MCT METALICITY 0.005 -8 -66 $ 3,122,112.50
INF INFINITY LITHIUM 0.065 -8 -16 $ 14,521,520.00
KTA KRAKATOA RESOURCES 0.021 -9 -30 $ 2,835,000.00
BUX BUXTON RESOURCES 0.105 -9 -22 $ 14,285,820.00
OMH OM HOLDINGS 0.53 -9 -60 $ 391,470,368.00
BAR BARRA RESOURCES 0.02 -9 -55 $ 11,316,706.00
PUR PURSUIT MINERALS 0.01 -9 -86 $ 2,367,168.50
PIO PIONEER RESOURCES 0.021 -9 11 $ 28,666,416.00
CZR COZIRON RESOURCES 0.009 -10 -36 $ 18,747,462.00
VML VITAL METALS 0.009 -10 29 $ 17,426,112.00
MRR MINREX RESOURCES 0.009 -10 -72 $ 862,899.56
DEV DEVEX RESOURCES 0.076 -11 6 $ 10,111,844.00
ZNC ZENITH MINERALS 0.065 -11 -52 $ 12,999,996.00
SRK STRIKE RESOURCES 0.046 -12 -8 $ 7,855,310.50
GBE GLOBE METALS AND MINING 0.015 -12 15 $ 6,988,835.50
WCN WHITE CLIFF MINERALS 0.006 -13 -65 $ 3,292,449.25
N27 NORTHERN COBALT 0.04 -13 -69 $ 2,970,441.25
VMC VENUS METALS 0.19 -14 -1 $ 23,250,114.00
KAI KAIROS MINERALS 0.012 -14 -64 $ 10,227,274.00
MTH MITHRIL RESOURCES 0.006 -14 -35 $ 2,534,335.25
VRC VOLT RESOURCES 0.011 -15 -45 $ 17,659,480.00
NVA NOVA MINERALS 0.05 -17 108 $ 54,990,016.00
CFE CAPE LAMBERT RESOURCES 0.005 -17 -79 $ 6,350,843.50
VR8 VANADIUM RESOURCES 0.049 -17 -66 $ 17,606,372.00
WKT WALKABOUT RESOURCES 0.24 -19 36 $ 58,628,136.00
SBR SABRE RESOURCES 0.004 -20 -67 $ 1,901,534.75
MQR MARQUEE RESOURCES 0.076 -20 -61 $ 5,406,858.50
AYR ALLOY RESOURCES 0.0025 -25 -25 $ 5,079,833.00
SYR SYRAH RESOURCES 0.52 -27 -77 $ 227,355,920.00
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