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Chilean Lithium Carbonate Export

(By Peter Ehren)

Chile has two producers of lithium products, which are SQM and Chemetall SCL, responsible for more than 65% of the world market.

Both are using the lithium containing brine from the Salar de Atacama.

Beside lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, lithium chloride and lithium chloride solution  is produced. In  2009 the lithium export has declined and even recently ( September 2009) SQM announced a 20% price reduction in lithium carbonate. In the graph below, all the lithium products are plotted as lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE).

In the following graph the historical Chilean Export data is resumed and described.

In the following graph the historical Chilean Export data is resumed and described.

1990-1996:  Lithium carbonate was produced from minerals and from brines by Chemetall´s SCL and Silver Peak operations. The market price was boarding around the 3,000 USD/ton.

1997 :             SQM started to produce lithium carbonate and dropped about 9,000 ton of lithium carbonate in the market with a price less than 1,800 US$/ton which was around  40% lower than established price.

1998-2004:     The new market price for lithium carbonate is positioned between 1,500-1,700 ton/year. SQM expanded its capacity from 9,000 to 18,000 and then to 28,000 ton/year.

2005-2006:     From the year 2005 the lithium carbonate price started to rise because of market shortage caused by:

·                a strong increase in the demand fueled by battery applications;

·                production problems in the Salar de Atacama;

·                start-up of the lithium hydroxide plant of SQM in combination of consumed former Litchem´s lithium hydroxide stock, previously bought by SQM.

2007- 2008:      The lithium carbonate price maintains its strong rise up to an average export price of 5,200 US$/ton of lithium carbonate. 

 2009                 The financial Crisis is affecting the lithium demand and the Chilean export is reduced dramatically. In September 2009 SQM reduced the price of lithium carbonate.

2010                    The oversupply probably will force lithium prices to go down during 2010, however the demand is expected to grow during this year.