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

All long-suffering battery metals investors want to know when lithium prices are going to recover. The real answer is that no one knows, and even the best estimates are just educated guesses.

What we do know is that spodumene producer Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) told investors on Friday that it was selling concentrate for $US520.92/t ($757.74) in the December quarter; a fall of $US88/t on the prior quarter.

It’s also $US550/t less than the price Mineral Resources fetched in late 2018, which gives you a sense of how dismal things are right across the board.

Source: Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.

S&P Global reckons that the “oversupply of lithium chemical compounds that forced prices down in 2019 should persist in 2020 as the electric vehicle revolution will not accelerate in tandem with recent — and upcoming — increases in supply”.

According to forecasts from September, the world’s total output should reach 560,000 tonnes of LCE in 2019 and exceed 800,000 tonnes in 2020, S&P says.

But longer term, 2020 could prove a decisive year for lithium hopefuls.

“According to several market analysts, 2020 will be a key year for the future long-term lithium supply,” S&P says.

“If some new projects don’t find the required financing in the coming months, the current oversupply is likely to suddenly shift into shortage in a few years as electric vehicles spread out globally.”

 

SMALL CAP HIGHLIGHTS

Of the companies on our list, 66 lost ground, 40 were ahead and 43 were steady this week.

Lithium Australia (ASX:LIT) +50%

Market Cap: $43m

On Monday, New York fund Lind Partners invested $6.3m into the diversified battery play, sending the stock on a crazy run.

Unlike other lithium small caps, Lithium Australia wants to make money in three ways — by producing advanced battery cathode powders, selling storage batteries in JV with a Chinese firm, and recycling old batteries through its Envirostream subsidiary.

“We have been following Lithium Australia since 2013,” Lind boss Jeff Easton says.

“In that time, we have seen Lithium Australia evolve from an explorer to a diversified battery and battery minerals company with three distinct complimentary business units with excellent commercial potential.”

 

Prospect Resources (ASX:PSC) +36%

Market Cap: $39m

On Friday, advanced African lithium explorer Prospect released an updated definitive feasibility study for its flagship Arcadia project in Zimbabwe, which the company calls ‘robust’.

‘Robust’ is the most criminally overused, meaningless superlative in small cap resources land.

But in this case the robust hat actually fits. Among other things, Arcadia would cost $US162m to build (pretty good) and boast an internal rate of return of 71 per cent, pretax (that’s very, very good).

The same day it signed an initial MOU with global energy company Uranium One over a potential investment or off-take agreement. And then on Monday Prospect locked down an all-important power supply agreement for the project.

Whatta week.

 

Finally — a handful of major lithium producers had a rare win despite the depressing near-term outlook; Orocobre (ASX:ORE) +15%, Galaxy Resources (ASX:GXY) +11%, and Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) +10%.

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:

Code Name 1 Week Return % 1 Year Return % Price [Monday intraday] Market Cap
LIT LITHIUM AUSTRALIA 50 -42 0.071 $ 24,379,732.00
SBR SABRE RESOURCES 50 -57 0.003 $ 2,531,151.00
PSM PENINSULA MINES 50 -14 0.003 $ 2,033,744.13
CZN CORAZON MINING 50 -50 0.004 $ 4,076,721.25
PSC PROSPECT RESOURCES 36 -35 0.17 $ 31,853,488.00
LCD LATITUDE CONSOLIDATED 23 -11 0.016 $ 4,402,864.00
RML RESOLUTION MINERALS 17 -39 0.049 $ 5,334,480.50
ORE OROCOBRE 15 -31 2.65 $ 667,279,104.00
AZI ALTA ZINC 14 76 0.008 $ 17,617,190.00
LPD LEPIDICO 13 8 0.016 $ 66,055,028.00
THR THOR MINING 13 -68 0.009 $ 9,689,822.00
GXY GALAXY RESOURCES 11 -61 0.91 $ 352,152,224.00
CXO CORE LITHIUM 11 -40 0.037 $ 28,453,124.00
PGM PLATINA RESOURCES 11 -65 0.021 $ 6,362,382.50
MIN MINERAL RESOURCES 10 23 16.97 $ 3,100,754,944.00
GNM GREAT NORTHERN MINERALS 10 -69 0.011 $ 4,163,230.00
KAI KAIROS MINERALS 10 -56 0.011 $ 11,216,403.00
BUX BUXTON RESOURCES 10 -39 0.079 $ 10,340,213.00
CRL COMET RESOURCES 10 -18 0.023 $ 6,808,000.00
SYR SYRAH RESOURCES 9 -72 0.45 $ 181,936,944.00
NVA NOVA MINERALS 9 85 0.037 $ 34,485,264.00
CHN CHALICE GOLD MINES 9 58 0.195 $ 49,332,264.00
TON TRITON MINERALS 8 -11 0.039 $ 43,109,300.00
BAT BATTERY MINERALS 8 -70 0.0065 $ 7,908,549.50
AGY ARGOSY MINERALS 8 -51 0.081 $ 80,382,672.00
SVM SOVEREIGN METALS 8 40 0.095 $ 34,142,872.00
CLA CELSIUS RESOURCES 8 -81 0.013 $ 9,843,835.00
MLL MALI LITHIUM 8 -64 0.071 $ 21,579,672.00
LTR LIONTOWN RESOURCES 8 277 0.085 $ 138,906,784.00
HIP HIPO RESOURCES 6 0 0.018 $ 6,957,188.00
EUC EUROPEAN COBALT 6 -57 0.018 $ 13,710,552.00
PLL PIEDMONT LITHIUM 5 0 0.11 $ 85,614,936.00
BAR BARRA RESOURCES 5 -27 0.022 $ 13,123,346.00
ASN ANSON RESOURCES 4 -59 0.028 $ 17,398,892.00
AML AEON METALS 3 -61 0.1 $ 64,710,692.00
BYH BRYAH RESOURCES 2 -53 0.042 $ 4,337,575.00
AVZ AVZ MINERALS 2 -42 0.045 $ 103,686,680.00
SEI SPECIALITY METALS INTERNATIONAL 2 390 0.052 $ 52,084,672.00
NMT NEOMETALS 1 -6 0.19 $ 103,443,264.00
SO4 SALT LAKE POTASH 1 52 0.73 $ 188,706,384.00
RLC REEDY LAGOON 0 -33 0.004 $ 1,609,086.88
AYR ALLOY RESOURCES 0 -50 0.002 $ 3,133,016.00
DHR DARK HORSE RESOURCES 0 -40 0.003 $ 7,103,779.00
EUR EUROPEAN LITHIUM 0 -30 0.08 $ 49,347,656.00
RIE RIEDEL RESOURCES 0 -44 0.01 $ 4,180,697.00
BDI BLINA MINERALS 0 0 0.001 $ 5,454,882.50
SUH SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE MINING 0 -40 0.027 $ 2,485,875.75
RNU RENASCOR RESOURCES 0 -39 0.011 $ 12,753,668.00
SI6 SIX SIGMA METALS 0 -20 0.004 $ 2,580,012.50
AEE AURA ENERGY 0 -72 0.005 $ 6,619,703.00
DTM DART MINING 0 -29 0.1 $ 5,351,910.50
CZR COZIRON RESOURCES 0 -36 0.007 $ 14,581,359.00
AMD ARROW MINERALS 0 -43 0.008 $ 5,863,992.00
WCN WHITE CLIFF MINERALS 0 -49 0.005 $ 2,351,749.50
CLQ CLEAN TEQ 0 -48 0.205 $ 156,756,640.00
JMS JUPITER MINES 0 17 0.26 $ 479,952,800.00
LML LINCOLN MINERALS 0 -29 0.005 $ 2,874,918.50
ANW AUS TIN MINING 0 -88 0.002 $ 5,090,103.50
PUR PURSUIT MINERALS 0 -79 0.006 $ 1,981,318.63
MTH MITHRIL RESOURCES 0 14 0.008 $ 3,923,113.75
BSM BASS METALS 0 -57 0.006 $ 16,859,248.00
ADV ARDIDEN 0 -33 0.003 $ 5,071,560.50
FEL FE 0 -18 0.014 $ 6,841,822.50
MLS METALS AUSTRALIA 0 -50 0.0015 $ 4,811,029.00
PNN PEPINNINI LITHIUM 0 -58 0.002 $ 2,867,196.25
IEC INTRA ENERGY 0 -40 0.006 $ 2,326,344.25
CFE CAPE LAMBERT RESOURCES 0 -78 0.004 $ 4,417,896.00
HWK HAWKSTONE MINING 0 -67 0.006 $ 4,891,908.00
MTB MOUNT BURGESS MINING 0 -40 0.003 $ 1,596,388.13
FGR FIRST GRAPHENE 0 -15 0.145 $ 66,460,812.00
KSN KINGSTON RESOURCES 0 -9 0.14 $ 26,488,848.00
ARE ARGONAUT RESOURCES 0 -82 0.004 $ 6,313,522.50
GLN GALAN LITHIUM 0 -40 0.145 $ 23,685,212.00
SVD SCANDIVANADIUM 0 -67 0.007 $ 2,463,062.75
EGR ECOGRAF 0 -42 0.075 $ 22,422,548.00
BSX BLACKSTONE MINERALS 0 8 0.13 $ 23,966,434.00
COB COBALT BLUE 0 -38 0.13 $ 18,737,816.00
MQR MARQUEE RESOURCES 0 -9 0.058 $ 3,689,386.00
LPI LITHIUM POWER INTERNATIONAL 0 -2 0.235 $ 63,003,336.00
HNR HANNANS 0 -18 0.009 $ 17,891,590.00
IDA INDIANA RESOURCES 0 -50 0.025 $ 4,587,367.50
GME GME RESOURCES 0 -30 0.052 $ 26,324,632.00
KTA KRAKATOA RESOURCES 0 42 0.037 $ 6,475,000.00
TNG TNG -1 -22 0.09 $ 102,333,608.00
HAV HAVILAH RESOURCES -1 -43 0.092 $ 23,456,970.00
INF INFINITY LITHIUM -2 -2 0.061 $ 13,965,579.00
ARL ARDEA RESOURCES -2 32 0.6 $ 62,169,232.00
PLS PILBARA MINERALS -2 -64 0.26 $ 567,044,608.00
OMH OM HOLDINGS -2 -62 0.495 $ 358,232,320.00
BKT BLACK ROCK MINING -2 34 0.046 $ 29,560,354.00
POS POSEIDON NICKEL -2 7 0.047 $ 121,564,288.00
TLG TALGA RESOURCES -2 9 0.445 $ 103,294,264.00
INR IONEER -3 6 0.19 $ 318,940,320.00
DGR DGR GLOBAL -3 -44 0.076 $ 47,215,004.00
VMC VENUS METALS -3 11 0.195 $ 27,194,162.00
AJM ALTURA MINING -3 -69 0.053 $ 136,292,640.00
E25 ELEMENT 25 -3 -6 0.16 $ 14,725,164.00
DEV DEVEX RESOURCES -4 64 0.074 $ 14,086,867.00
GED GOLDEN DEEPS -4 -33 0.024 $ 6,665,374.50
CAZ CAZALY RESOURCES -5 95 0.022 $ 7,614,492.00
JRV JERVOIS MINING -5 -22 0.18 $ 118,702,040.00
PM1 PURE MINERALS -6 21 0.017 $ 7,539,335.50
ZNC ZENITH MINERALS -6 -33 0.051 $ 13,141,442.00
FFR FIREFLY RESOURCES -6 -83 0.05 $ 3,917,297.75
BPL BROKEN HILL PROSPECTING -6 -27 0.019 $ 4,152,085.00
NWC NEW WORLD RESOURCES -6 -16 0.016 $ 13,970,999.00
LI3 LITHIUM CONSOLIDATED -6 -49 0.029 $ 4,135,206.25
MNS MAGNIS ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES -6 -69 0.093 $ 60,437,216.00
PAN PANORAMIC RESOURCES -6 -7 0.335 $ 215,897,776.00
AUZ AUSTRALIAN MINES -6 -63 0.016 $ 51,671,136.00
NXE NEW ENERGY MINERALS -7 -71 0.014 $ 2,167,023.75
KOR KORAB RESOURCES -7 -44 0.011 $ 4,440,793.00
NZC NZURI COPPER -7 0 0.28 $ 79,894,480.00
JRL JINDALEE RESOURCES -7 4 0.28 $ 10,200,977.00
LKE LAKE RESOURCES -7 -72 0.025 $ 13,238,302.00
TMT TECHNOLOGY METALS AUSTRALIA -8 -68 0.12 $ 11,382,042.00
PIO PIONEER RESOURCES -8 -14 0.012 $ 18,105,106.00
MLM METALLICA MINERALS -8 -57 0.012 $ 3,888,569.00
CUL CULLEN RESOURCES -8 -45 0.012 $ 2,273,578.00
MEI METEORIC RESOURCES -8 292 0.035 $ 51,597,272.00
MTC METALSTECH -8 13 0.034 $ 3,976,432.25
VML VITAL METALS -8 22 0.012 $ 23,568,724.00
CHK COHIBA MINERALS -8 -27 0.012 $ 7,310,756.50
VRC VOLT RESOURCES -9 -56 0.01 $ 16,137,406.00
SYA SAYONA MINING -9 -44 0.01 $ 20,418,208.00
AVL AUSTRALIAN VANADIUM -9 -64 0.01 $ 25,528,020.00
MZZ MATADOR MINING -10 12 0.24 $ 22,749,026.00
LRS LATIN RESOURCES -10 -88 0.008 $ 1,401,292.13
HRZ HORIZON MINERALS -10 -37 0.088 $ 38,517,768.00
4CE FORCE COMMODITIES -10 -19 0.013 $ 6,691,857.00
GBE GLOBE METALS AND MINING -11 -6 0.017 $ 7,920,680.50
MCT METALICITY -11 -75 0.004 $ 2,892,839.75
SRK STRIKE RESOURCES -11 -8 0.048 $ 9,025,250.00
EMH EUROPEAN METALS -11 -19 0.29 $ 43,734,580.00
BEM BLACKEARTH MINERALS -12 -39 0.052 $ 5,796,431.50
TKL TRAKA RESOURCES -13 -67 0.007 $ 2,803,240.75
HXG HEXAGON ENERGY MATERIALS -13 -58 0.06 $ 17,546,004.00
VR8 VANADIUM RESOURCES -13 -70 0.026 $ 10,105,491.00
GPX GRAPHEX MINING -15 -22 0.14 $ 16,153,233.00
AXE ARCHER MATERIALS -15 53 0.115 $ 24,636,472.00
POW PROTEAN ENERGY -17 -75 0.006 $ 1,557,186.25
RMX RED MOUNTAIN MINING -17 -29 0.005 $ 4,390,184.00
CNJ CONICO -18 -49 0.009 $ 3,459,584.00
WKT WALKABOUT RESOURCES -20 126 0.215 $ 63,512,180.00
WML WOOMERA MINING -21 -78 0.015 $ 2,014,379.63
TAR TARUGA MINERALS -24 -68 0.013 $ 2,597,475.75
MRR MINREX RESOURCES -25 -55 0.009 $ 862,899.56
BOA BOADICEA RESOURCES -26 11 0.2 $ 11,119,149.00
SRN SUREFIRE RESOURCES -33 -67 0.003 $ 1,256,307.25
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