Companies from Ganfeng Lithium, Zijin Mining and Rio Tinto have been snapping up salt flat projects in Argentina. |
Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd., China's largest lithium producer, has been splashing cash around the industry, shoveling out $1.80 billion for resources since 2021 and seizing market share, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
In its biggest and latest deal, the Tesla Inc. lithium supplier would spend up to $962 million to acquire LitheA Inc., which owns the Pozuelos and Pastos Grandes lithium salt flat assets in Argentina, Ganfeng said July 11. That comes less than two months after the company signed a deal to acquire exploration rights for the Songshugang tantalum-niobium mine in China's Jiangxi province for $159.9 million.
Skyrocketing lithium prices have sparked a global dealmaking frenzy. Chinese lithium producers and battery-makers have poured billions of dollars into domestic and overseas projects, as miners have failed to meet surging demand for the metal that is key to the global transition to electric vehicles.
"Companies are making excessive profit [amid the lithium price boom], so financially strong companies like Ganfeng will continue to expand upstream resources," Zhang Jinhui, an analyst at consultancy ICCSINO, said in an interview.
The Battery-grade Lithium Carbonate EXW China price surged by nearly fivefold to $41,925 per tonne in 2021, while costs remained low. Total cash costs were $2,529/t lithium carbonate equivalent, or LCE, for lithium concentrate operations and $5,048/t LCE for lithium chemicals operations in 2021.
Self-sufficiency drive
The ambitious acquisition forms a crucial part of Ganfeng's strategy to boost self-sufficiency by increasing its supply of raw materials.
The major challenge for Ganfeng is that its production capacity has grown much faster than project development, Zhang said. Of its eight major lithium assets, five have yet to be brought on stream, according to Market Intelligence data.
The company's assets can supply about 40% of the raw materials it needs for its refined products. That means rising prices for lithium spodumene concentrate have also boosted input costs and limited profitability. Ganfeng's gross profit margin reached 50.39% in the first quarter, lagging behind its biggest domestic rival, Tianqi Lithium Corp., which is fully self-sufficient, at 73.22%.
Ganfeng aims to achieve 70% self-sufficiency by 2025, a representative told S&P Global Commodity Insights. The company plans to boost the annual production capacity of its lithium compounds and resources projects to 300,000 tonnes LCE by 2025, with a longer-term target of 600,000 tonnes LCE, according to its 2021 annual report.
"[The Pozuelos and Pastos Grandes projects] could be key assets for Ganfeng's medium-term supply," Commodity Insights analyst Yao Shunyu said. The combined operations are targeting annual production of 30,000 tonnes LCE in the first phase, with the potential to expand to 50,000 t/y, Ganfeng said in a July 11 filing.
The LitheA acquisition is still subject to approval by Chinese authorities. A Ganfeng representative said an ongoing insider trading probe of a 2020 deal with Jiangxi Special Electric Motor Co. Ltd. would not affect the transaction.
While the investigation would restrict the company's refinancing activities for a year, Ganfeng plans to use its own funds for the LitheA acquisition. The company estimated July 14 that its net income for the first half will surge by 408.2% to 535.3% year over year, to at least 7.2 billion Chinese yuan.
Growing interest in Argentina
The LitheA deal once again put the spotlight on Argentina.
As of late 2021, Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd. gained control of the 3Q lithium brine project in Catamarca through the acquisition of Neo Lithium Corp. for $719.6 million, and Rio Tinto Group acquired the Salar del Rincon lithium project in Salta for $825 million. Ganfeng took full control of the Mariana property in Salta as of October 2021 and holds a 46.66% stake in Cauchari-Olaroz, which are two of the biggest lithium brine projects in the country.
"A stronger resource base in Argentina could also potentially provide lower-cost brine-based lithium production, with closer proximity to the growing European and North American EV markets," said Alice Yu, a senior analyst with Commodity Insights.
Argentina is leading the lithium M&A race with Bolivia and Chile, its neighbors in the Lithium Triangle, due to lower mining costs and business-friendly policies that attract more foreign investment. Chile has classified lithium as a strategic resource, while Bolivia has yet to start commercial lithium operations. While Argentina authorities recently set a lithium export reference price, the country is still open for foreign businesses to explore and produce lithium.
"Argentina is home to commercial lithium operations, which means new projects can make use of existing infrastructures, and there [is] lithium processing expertise in the country," Commodity Insights' Yao said.
As of July 14, US$1 was equivalent to 6.76 Chinese yuan.
S&P Global Commodity Insights and S&P Global Market Intelligence are owned by S&P Global Inc.