Mike interview June7 Sep 2023 09:26
Was Reading Old articles and thought this piece may cheer us up as we watch and wait.
nd and supply is set to widen exponentially – Source: Reuters
Anyone with a basic grip on economics will tell you that if demand outstrips supply in anything it leads to shortages and that usually leads to price increments, “especially if supply cannot pick up to meet this surging demand”, noted Ralson.
“I believe there is a profound impact coming like we have seen in lithium and other battery metals (cobalt, nickel, manganese) in the past,” Ralson theorised, continuing: “It is difficult to predict exactly when, as markets have many different moving parts, but the accelerating demand is real.
“There are over 200 battery megafactories in some stage of development and they will all require graphite ahead. The supply restraints discussed above are real.”
This could lead to a potential boon to pure-play graphite producers who will inevitably be able to realise a better price for the product, though the sector also has its own particular set of risks.
On top of the source risk of 60% to 70% of primary graphite or graphite concentrate still coming from China, “mining and processing graphite and delivering what the customer needs is itself a learning process”, according to Poddar.
“It is a material which has its own peculiarities, its own specialised methods of doing things, So there is a learning curve for new entrants.”
For the sake of the EV industry, let’s hope these new entrants make good students.