BHP Group Ltd said on Wed that it is still dedicated to expanding its portfolio of nickel & copper projects. But that it is not interested in the lithium market, which it feels is oversupplied. – Lithium prices
The remarks coincide with those made by the largest mining corporation in the world during the previous year & come as lithium prices have been declining due to concerns about demand.
Experts predict a 25 percent overall drop in lithium prices in 2023. Partly as a result of a predicted downturn in China’s EV sector as government subsidies finish.
For BHP’s rivals in the global mining industry, the wager seems a little counterintuitive. For instance, Rio Tinto Ltd. spent $825 million on a lithium project in Argentina at the end of 2021. And is attempting to establish a lithium mine in Serbia.
The 2nd-largest stakeholder in Li-Cycle Holdings Corp., a recycler that will soon position among the top manufacturers of lithium in the United States, is Glencore Plc. and Sibanye Stillwater Ltd has committed to help ioneer Ltd construct a Nevada lithium project.
Because there are many new mines for either commodity coming online anytime soon. BHP anticipates that global supply of copper and nickel will continue to fall short of demand. The company has invested 500k dollar to each of the companies Nordic Nickel Ltd., Impact Minerals, Tutume Metals, Asian Battery Minerals, Red Ox Copper, Bronzite Corp., and Kingsrose Mining Ltd., who are all exploring into copper & nickel deposits across the globe.
Lithium oversupply is not likely good
The vast Resolution Copper mining project in Arizona is being develop by Rio with assistance from BHP, which also invest 40 million dollar in Kabanga Nickel previous year. Kabanga Nickel is constructing a nickel mine in Tanzania.
BHP’s first investment in Africa since 2015, Kabanga, made as part of a readiness to enter “tougher areas,” according to Chief Executive Mike Henry. Such action was take after BHP failed to acquire Canadian nickel miner Noront Resources in a 2021 acquisition proposal. Since the need for fertiliser rises due to the growing world population, BHP has also committed to investing C$12 billion ($8.7 billion) to establish a potash mine in Canada’s Saskatchewan region.
Canada is well position to cover the supply gap as a result of supply disruptions from the world’s two major potash producers, Belarus and Russia, according to Rad Udd, president of BHP Americas.