China’s control over the global lithium supply chain presents elevated risks to downstream U.S. companies as Chinese companies continue to expand their footprints in overseas lithium mines.
Article by Kathleen Li from our premium news partners at The Epoch Times.
“We love our suppliers, and we have a very strong relationship, but we are very dependant on the supplies coming from China. … We think there are risks in terms of the stability of the supply, given everything happens geopolitically,” Tim Karimov, president of U.S. lithium battery manufacturer OneCharge, said in a presentation at the MODEX 22 seminar.
MODEX is the largest manufacturing and supply chain expo held in North America and South America. MODEX 22 was held on March 28-31 at Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center.
In January, OneCharge released a white paper addressing the U.S. role in global lithium battery manufacturing and the risks China poses to the supply chain.
“China currently dominates the global lithium battery supply chain. Upwards of 70% of the total global Li-ion battery manufacturing capacity is controlled by China. … Should China decide to throttle supply or dramatically raise prices, this would hurt the U.S. transportation and logistics sectors, which are quickly adopting lithium battery-powered electric vehicles,” the report states.
According to the Chinese digital newspaper The Paper, BYD Co. Ltd. (01211.HK), a Chinese conglomerate and electric vehicle manufacturer, is currently in talks to buy six lithium mines in Africa containing more than 27 million tons of lithium oxide at 2.5 percent grade—enough to supply BYD with 10 years of lithium oxide.
EV manufacturers have come under pressure due to the soaring lithium price for EV batteries amid the surging demand for electric vehicles. As a result, many companies also have stepped into the global race to acquire lithium mines.
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China’s lithium sources primarily come from ecologically fragile areas, such as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with a harsh natural environment, poor infrastructure, and significant technical challenges. Despite those challenges, Beijing has actively encouraged Chinese state-backed companies to secure lithium mines overseas to surpass Europe and the United States in the new energy industry, according to Chinese state-run media Yicai.
Chinese Control in Critical Lithium Resources
The lithium industry has a high degree of market concentration. In 2020, five companies accounted for nearly half of the world’s lithium production capacity, producing approximately 75 percent of the worldwide supply, according to a report released by China Merchants Bank Research Institute on March 4.
Two of the five companies—Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd. (01772.HK) and Tianqi Lithium Co. Ltd. (02466.SZ)—are from China. Both companies have taken up significant shares in global lithium resources, allowing them to control the lithium supply chain.
Chinese battery giant Ganfeng Lithium’s overseas footprint in lithium resources spans Australia, Argentina, and Ireland, according to its 2021 annual report.
Among them, the Mount Marion Project in Australia is the largest source of Ganfeng’s lithium supply. Ganfeng secures stable raw materials supplies by signing long-term procurement agreements with upstream lithium providers after investing in them.
Chinese giant Tianqi Lithium has also secured its lithium supplies by purchasing massive shares of leading companies in the upstream lithium supply chain. In 2014, Tianqi Lithium acquired 51 percent shares in Windfield Holdings, the shareholder of Talison Lithium, which owns the Greenbushes lithium deposit in Western Australia—the world’s largest hard-rock lithium mine.
And in 2018, Tianqi Lithium purchased 23.77 percent shares in SQM, a world-leading brine-based lithium producer. The company has since become the second-largest shareholder of SQM.
Will America-First News Outlets Make it to 2023?
Things are looking grim for conservative and populist news sites.
There’s something happening behind the scenes at several popular conservative news outlets. 2021 was bad, but 2022 is proving to be disastrous for news sites that aren’t “playing ball” with the corporate media narrative. It’s being said that advertisers are cracking down, forcing some of the biggest ad networks like Google and Yahoo to pull their inventory from conservative outlets. This has had two major effects. First, it has cooled most conservative outlets from discussing “taboo” topics like Pandemic Panic Theater, voter fraud, or The Great Reset. Second, it has isolated those ad networks that aren’t playing ball.
Certain topics are anathema for most ad networks. Speaking out against vaccines or vaccine mandates is a certain path to being demonetized. Highlighting voter fraud in the 2020 and future elections is another instant advertising death penalty. Throw in truthful stories about climate change hysteria, Critical Race Theory, and the border crisis and it’s easy to understand how difficult it is for America-First news outlets to spread the facts, share conservative opinions, and still pay the bills.
Without naming names, I have been told of several news outlets who have been forced to either consolidate with larger organizations or who have backed down on covering certain topics out of fear of being “canceled” by the ad networks. I get it. This is a business for many of us and it’s not very profitable. Those of us who do this for a living are often barely squeaking by, so loss of additional revenue can often mean being forced to make cuts. That means not being able to cover the topics properly. Its a Catch-22: Tell the truth and lose the money necessary to keep telling the truth, or avoid the truth and make enough money to survive. Those who have chosen survival simply aren’t able to spread the truth properly.
We will never avoid the truth. The Lord will provide if it is His will. Our job is simply to share the facts, spread the Gospel, and educate as many Americans as possible while exposing the forces of evil.
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Thank you, and God Bless!
JD Rucker