Daniel Jimenez: Lithium Market to Remain Tight, Prices Could Be Higher by Year End

Lithium prices have been on the rebound since May after falling more than 50 percent from November to April.

“In this industry we have seasonality,” Daniel Jimenez of iLi Markets told the Investing News Network on the sidelines of this year’s Lithium Supply and Battery Raw Materials conference, hosted by Fastmarkets. “But all in all, when you make the sum of total demand and total supply, we didn't see those surpluses that would have justified these price drops.”

Jimenez believes the market will remain tight, with prices staying above marginal cost of production levels.

“I don't see it as impossible that we see US$60,000 or US$70,000 (per tonne) price levels again towards the end of the year,” said Jimenez, who formerly worked at top lithium producer SQM (NYSE:SQM). He is also a board member of Galan Lithium (ASX:GLN), which is developing two lithium brine projects in Argentina: Hombre Muerto West and Candelas.

“Argentina has been a very attractive jurisdiction to develop lithium brine projects,” Jimenez said. “I'm quite sure that by the end of this decade there will be at least 10 operations producing lithium in Argentina.”

He also shared his thoughts on what governments are doing when it comes to critical minerals.

“Every year you come to these conferences, and you see many projects where permitting is at the same stage it was last year, and that is not good,” he said. “That's where governments could help very much. I think financing is not such a big constraint.”

Listen to the interview above for more from Jimenez on what trends could impact the lithium space going forward. You can also click here for our recap of the Fastmarkets event.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Priscila Barrera, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: Galan Lithium is a client of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.

The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.