202218 Feb 2022 11:45
Most encouraging;
Lithium outlook 2022: Key factors to watch
Speaking about the challenges junior miners could face in 2022, Adams said the hurdle will be to get up and running as fast as they can. “The opportunities will be there should be a lot of willing buyers/offtakers, and not just from China, with financing being more readily available,” he added. Adams said investors should expect more partnerships to be formed from downstream to upstream in 2022. “(That means) more securing of supply, more investment in the upstream market of the supply chain.” Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s Miller is also expecting far more attention to be paid to raw material supply by cell manufacturers and automakers, which may grow their engagement upstream in order to secure raw materials. “I will (also) be watching the progress of projects currently under construction and those due to come online during 2022,” he added. In terms of contracts, Fastmarkets is expecting to see long-term supply deals negotiated. “Some may be fixed priced, but at these high prices consumers may be wary of locking in prices. I think we are more likely to see supply contracts based on unfixed prices,” Adams said. There is a trend toward more frequent pricing breaks within contracting, said Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, as producers seek to capitalize on rising prices and increasingly link contracts to market-led price reporting. “We have also seen more support for juniors in terms of offtake agreements, contracts and financing, which should improve financing opportunities and increase the likelihood of novel supply coming to market,” Miller said.
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