en.Wedoany.com Reported - China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL) plans to establish a mining division to address uncertainties in key raw material supply and price volatility risks. Jiang Li, the company's vice president, stated in a recent interview that processing is not the bottleneck, but mining is crucial, and building upstream capacity helps establish cost advantages.
China dominates battery mineral refining, and clients such as Ford Motor Co. previously believed that processing posed a greater constraint on the industry than mining. However, price surges and supply uncertainties are driving some battery manufacturers to shift investment focus toward mineral extraction. Despite strong manufacturing capabilities, China still relies on ore imports. To address this, CATL has hired Chen Jinghe, founder of China's largest metal miner, as an advisor.
Jiang Li stated that technological innovation can help overcome metal shortages in the medium to long term, but market changes are rapid, and sometimes time is insufficient, making mining very important. CATL's current mining investments cover domestic and international projects involving lithium, phosphate, and cobalt. Its large lithium mine in Jiangxi Province has experienced disruptions since August, exacerbating sharp lithium price fluctuations. CATL is advancing batteries using sodium, a globally abundant element, as an alternative risk management strategy. Jiang Li noted that if lithium prices rise, more sodium-ion batteries can be produced.
China Mineral Resources Group Co. has informed steel mills and traders of plans to restrict some iron ore inventories of Fortescue Ltd. stored at Chinese ports. Iron ore prices have thus risen, with futures prices briefly exceeding $100 per ton. Bloomberg Intelligence stated that as production declines outpace demand, China's steel overcapacity will shrink this year; as the economy shifts from real estate construction to high-value manufacturing and green technologies, the steel industry will continue its structural transformation in the second half of the year. Gavekal Dragonomics believes that as China reduces its reliance on oil, oil price volatility may become less significant, with a key driver being the rapid electrification of China's heavy-duty truck fleet.
