Resumen de Lithium: : Year in Review 2016
SUPPLY SECURITY While there have been many new entrants into the lithium exploration industry, the market is currently dominated by a small handful of suppliers - US-based Albemarle Corp. and FMC Corp.; Chile's Sociedad Quimica y Minera SA (SQM); and the Chinese producers, Tianqi Lithium Industries Inc. and Jianxi Ganfeng Lithium Co. All of the market leaders have said they will expand their production in the near term, in response to growing lithium demand. MARKET DEMAND Predicted and actual lithium demand escalation in 2016 led industry players to speculate that the market may need an additional 20,000 tpa lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) - the equivalent of one new project every year - for the foreseeable future. Batteries, which accounted for 35% of global lithium demand in 2015 according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), are expected to drive higher consumption, with volumes demanded by electric vehicles (EVs) and stationary energy...
