The Lithium Industry’s New-Year Rush for Ore: Giants Clash Over “Certainty”

Shifting our gaze slightly backward, a major acquisition had already heated up the battlefield at the start of the year. According to public information from the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, on December 30, 2025, Salt Lake Potash announced its plan to acquire a 51% stake in Wumine Salt Lake for RMB 4.605 billion—a 352.42% premium—from its controlling shareholder, China Salt Lake Industrial Group. This deal brought the Yiliping Salt Lake—holding 1.6459 million tons of lithium chloride resources—under Salt Lake Potash’s control. Asset transfer and registration were completed on January 30, 2026. Not only did this resolve an issue of intra-group competition, but it also elevated Salt Lake Potash’s lithium-salt production capacity into the domestic industry’s top tier. In its announcement, the company explicitly stated the move was intended to “accelerate the construction of a world-class salt lake industrial base.” While giants battle for upstream resources, mid- and downstream players are also forging strategic alliances. For instance, Shengxin Lithium Energy has signed a “Cooperation Framework Agreement (2026–2030)” with CHAdeMO (Zhongchuang Aviation), under which CHAdeMO will purchase a total of 200,000 tons of lithium-salt products from Shengxin Lithium Energy, with orders executed incrementally and settled at prevailing market prices. From Australian and African mines to salt lakes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and from spodumene deposits in Sichuan to battery factories in the Yangtze River Delta, a front line defined by the keyword “control” has clearly emerged in early 2026. Locking in Certainty Why now? Why so urgently? Behind the synchronized moves of industry giants lies a shared commercial logic forged through repeated cycles of market volatility. A person deeply involved in procurement operations at Tianqi Lithium told the Economic Observer: “We know full well that only by firmly securing resources can we hold steady during price troughs—and strike decisively during peaks.” Recalling the dramatic plunge in lithium carbonate prices in 2024—from a high of RMB 500,000 per ton to less than half that level—the same Tianqi Lithium executive noted that no enterprise is willing to entrust its fate entirely to price speculation anymore. Resources—especially low-cost, high-grade, premium-quality ones—have become the ballast enabling companies to weather cyclical turbulence. At Tianqi Lithium’s earnings briefing on March 28, 2025, the operational head of Talison (Tianqi’s subsidiary and the sole operator of the Greenbushes lithium spodumene mine in Australia—the world’s largest, highest-grade, and lowest-cost operating hard-rock lithium mine) disclosed that, thanks to high-grade ore and mature operations, Tianqi’s Greenbushes mine reduced its Q3 2024 lithium concentrate cash cost to AUD 277 per ton (approximately RMB 1,960 per ton)—significantly below the overseas hard-rock lithium mine industry average. Fastmarkets’ Q4 2024 data further confirmed that Greenbushes’ mining and processing costs at its existing chemical-grade plants ranked among the lowest globally across all overseas hard-rock lithium projects—with its tailings reprocessing plant and Phase I chemical-grade lithium concentrate plant achieving the lowest costs of any such overseas project. This is precisely the source of its resilience amid industry downturns. On February 4, 2026, Tianqi Lithium unveiled a comprehensive funding plan totaling approximately RMB 7.1 billion—explicitly earmarked for “acquiring premium lithium ore assets.” According to information obtained by the Economic Observer from Tianqi Lithium, the purpose is precisely to identify and lock in the next “Greenbushes.” This pursuit of “certainty” is likewise evident in Shengxin Lithium Energy’s decision to take full ownership of the Murong lithium mine. The shift—from joint venture participation to absolute majority control—has become a hallmark path in this wave of mergers and acquisitions.

In-Depth Analysis | The Top Ten Lithium-Battery Giants

A frenzy of capacity expansion and brutal price wars has swept across the entire lithium-battery industry! Indeed, the steep price declines across the lithium-battery全产业链 (entire industrial chain) in the first three quarters have already revealed an extremely severe competitive landscape and developmental trend. For example, power battery prices fell over 30% in the first nine months; energy storage battery prices dropped more than 46%; electrolyte prices declined over 40%; and battery-grade lithium carbonate prices plunged by more than 66%. Particularly in Q3 (July–September), prices across certain segments of the supply chain accelerated their downward trajectory—see table below for details. Considering the latest industry trends and shifts, future industrial competition—and even outright price “warfare”—is likely to intensify further. During this new, harsh round of industry consolidation, the performance and strategic moves of industry giants naturally attract intense market attention. Over the past two decades of turbulent industry evolution—marked by multiple rounds of consolidation, fierce competition, and cutthroat rivalry—Chinese enterprises have secured dominant positions globally across numerous lithium-battery subsectors: upstream lithium resources; the four key lithium-battery materials; lithium-battery manufacturing equipment; and power/energy-storage batteries. Companies such as Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL, 300750.SZ), Tianqi Lithium (002466.SZ), Zhongwei Co., Ltd. (300919.SZ), Hunan Yunneng (301358.SZ), BTR New Energy Materials (835185.BJ), Tinci Materials (002709.SZ), Enjie Co., Ltd. (002812.SZ), Kedali (002850.SZ), Dingsheng New Materials (603876.SH), and Lead Intelligent Equipment (300450.SZ) have not only established commanding positions within their respective niches—but have held the title of “world’s No. 1” for many years. We refer to them collectively as the “Top Ten Lithium-Battery Giants.” Today, the collective strength of these ten giants is formidable: their combined market capitalization stands at RMB 1.19 trillion (as of market close on October 31); their aggregate total assets amount to RMB 1.01 trillion; their combined cash reserves approach RMB 290 billion; and their annual revenue totals nearly RMB 550 billion… In this edition, 24Chao has compiled over a dozen core Q3 metrics and changes for the Top Ten Lithium-Battery Giants—including revenue, customer advance payments, net profit, external investments, internal cash generation and financing capacity, total liabilities and debt-to-asset ratio, net cash position, accounts receivable, and inventory—providing a comprehensive view of the overall competitive landscape among these giants, as well as the pressures and challenges they face amid rapid industry transformation—offering readers valuable reference material. Even industry giants are feeling mounting pressure—and facing real challenges—in this fierce round of industrial consolidation.

Chinese Lithium Giant Says Price Swings Have Turned More Extreme

14 hours ago

Ganfeng Lithium Group warns of extreme price volatility and shorter cycles in the lithium market, noting spot prices have fallen 23% year-to-date amid supply uncertainty and shifting demand from EVs and energy storage.

bloomberg

2026-11-10

Chinese Lithium Giant Says Price Swings Have Turned More Extreme

Chinese Lithium Giant Says Price Swings Have Turned More Extreme

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