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Mid-Nickel",103.5,99.73,3.78,13.78,6.78,[518,519,520,522,524,526,528,530,532,534,536,538],{"date":213,"value":512},{"date":216,"value":513},{"date":219,"value":521},99.19,{"date":222,"value":523},96.02,{"date":225,"value":525},98.23,{"date":467,"value":527},99.24,{"date":329,"value":529},101.29,{"date":339,"value":531},87.61,{"date":341,"value":533},92.44,{"date":344,"value":535},90.96,{"date":347,"value":537},92.24,{"date":350,"value":539},95.09,{"id":541,"uuid":542,"name":543,"slug":544,"full_slug":545,"content":546,"relatedArticles":808,"relatedVideos":809},112471265810894,"3c5fa231-59dc-4fd9-8e7c-09009cae732e","$2 billion Xinjiang lithium investments to double region’s supply","2-billion-xinjiang-lithium-investments-to-double-regions-supply","article/2-billion-xinjiang-lithium-investments-to-double-regions-supply",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":559,"content":569,"excerpt":787,"featured":51,"reporter":788,"_editable":792,"component":793,"seo_title":543,"categories":794,"visibility":800,"author_company":49,"featured_image":801,"seo_description":787,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":806,"formattedArticleDate":807},"b68c520c-7ac9-4735-a9cd-90150aada7a6","2023-05-31 00:00",[550,553,556],{"slug":551,"name":552},"china","China",{"slug":554,"name":555},"policy","Policy",{"slug":557,"name":558},"esg","ESG",[560],{"slug":561,"name":562,"content":563},"didi-bostock","Didi Bostock",{"job_title":564,"image":565,"bio":567,"linkedin":568},"Editor - Energy Transition & Economics",{"filename":566},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/2c5ca5c1a3/didi-bostock.jpeg","Didi is the Energy Transition & Economics Editor at Benchmark, covering a broad range of markets across the energy transition. His remit spans from downstream sectors such as BESS and EVs, through to midstream such as new technologies and battery production, to upstream critical minerals mining. He also leads on financial analysis across these supply chains, alongside in-depth policy analysis.\n","https://www.linkedin.com/in/didi-bostock-656342198/",{"type":570,"content":571},"doc",[572,579,591,596,601,606,613,618,623,628,633,638,643,648,653,660,665,670,675,680,685,690,695,700,711,716,729,734,739,744,757,762,767,772,777],{"type":573,"attrs":574,"content":575},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[576],{"text":577,"type":578},"China’s Xinjiang region is emerging as a significant lithium producer following $2 billion of investments into lithium mines and refineries.  ","text",{"type":573,"attrs":580,"content":581},{"textAlign":49},[582,589],{"text":8,"type":578,"marks":583},[584],{"type":585,"attrs":586},"link",{"href":587,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":588},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/lithium/reports/","url",{"text":590,"type":578}," supply from Xinjiang could almost double to 65,000 LCE by 2028 from around 24,000 tonnes LCE in 2024, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. ",{"type":573,"attrs":592,"content":593},{"textAlign":49},[594],{"text":595,"type":578},"The Xinjiang plants plan to use spodumene deposits in the province, which are set to ramp up production next year, giving them a local source of feedstock, rather than relying on Australian imports. ",{"type":573,"attrs":597,"content":598},{"textAlign":49},[599],{"text":600,"type":578},"But the plants are raising concerns about the presence of Xinjiang lithium in global supply chains, especially in the US, where the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act effectively prevents imports from the region. ",{"type":573,"attrs":602,"content":603},{"textAlign":49},[604],{"text":605,"type":578},"“EV makers importing Chinese cars to EU and US markets may encounter difficulties in context of the recently passed Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which requires clear and convincing evidence that the supply chain of the imported product is free of forced labour,” according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. ",{"type":607,"attrs":608,"content":610},"heading",{"level":609,"textAlign":49},4,[611],{"text":612,"type":578},"Breaking ground",{"type":573,"attrs":614,"content":615},{"textAlign":49},[616],{"text":617,"type":578},"Zhicun Lithium, which used to count CATL as a shareholder, said in February it would invest RMB 6 billion ($847 million) to construct a lithium carbonate plant in Xinjiang. ",{"type":573,"attrs":619,"content":620},{"textAlign":49},[621],{"text":622,"type":578},"CATL said it had sold its stake in the company in March*. ",{"type":573,"attrs":624,"content":625},{"textAlign":49},[626],{"text":627,"type":578},"The same month Xinjiang Nonferrous Metal Group, which used to be China’s largest lithium producer, started construction of a 100,000 tonne per annum LCE integrated lithium chemical and mining project in Xinjiang, which aims to produce 30,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide in its first phase.",{"type":573,"attrs":629,"content":630},{"textAlign":49},[631],{"text":632,"type":578},"Zhicun’s plant in Ruoqiang county is initially running at a capacity of 60,000 tonnes LCE per annum, with a total planned capacity of 120,000 tonnes. There are plans for a further 200,000 tonnes capacity expansion.  ",{"type":573,"attrs":634,"content":635},{"textAlign":49},[636],{"text":637,"type":578},"Zhicun said it will also invest RMB5bn ($373m) to construct a cathode facility with a nameplate capacity of 200,000 tpa at the site. It also plans for another processing plant in Xinjiang, in Hotan.",{"type":607,"attrs":639,"content":640},{"level":609,"textAlign":49},[641],{"text":642,"type":578},"US and EU target forced labour supply chains",{"type":573,"attrs":644,"content":645},{"textAlign":49},[646],{"text":647,"type":578},"Xinjiang’s lithium industry is emerging in the context of reports about human rights abuses by the Chinese government against the province’s Uyghurs, an ethnic group that comprises almost half its population.",{"type":573,"attrs":649,"content":650},{"textAlign":49},[651],{"text":652,"type":578},"A 2022 report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights pointed to “systematic human rights violations” against Uyghurs, including forced labour.",{"type":573,"attrs":654,"content":655},{"textAlign":49},[656,658],{"text":657,"type":578},"The 2021 Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act came into force on 21 June 2022. The act assumes any goods “mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part” in Xinjiang were produced with forced labour and are therefore banned from entry to the US.",{"text":659,"type":578},"The legislation makes exceptions for cases where the importer can present “clear and convincing evidence that the good, ware, article, or merchandise was not mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part by forced labour.” But this is hard to prove in practice. ",{"type":573,"attrs":661,"content":662},{"textAlign":49},[663],{"text":664,"type":578},"“The extent of Chinese government surveillance and threats to workers and auditors in Xinjiang currently make it impossible for companies to provide credible evidence that they or their suppliers in the region are free of forced labour,” said Jim Wormington, senior researcher and advocate of corporate accountability at Human Rights Watch. ",{"type":573,"attrs":666,"content":667},{"textAlign":49},[668],{"text":669,"type":578},"The European Union proposed a similar law on 14 September 2022 that would allow member states to withdraw any products made using forced labour from its markets. ",{"type":573,"attrs":671,"content":672},{"textAlign":49},[673],{"text":674,"type":578},"Xinjiang exports may face barriers at the European national level too. Germany’s Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, which went into effect on 1 January 2023,  requires companies with at least 3000 employees – including non-German companies that have a branch in the country – to identify, prevent, and remedy human rights abuses committed by supply chain third parties.",{"type":573,"attrs":676,"content":677},{"textAlign":49},[678],{"text":679,"type":578},"Laws mandating human rights due diligence across certain corporate supply chains will be implemented by every EU member state if the EU’s proposed Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive goes into effect. The European Parliament plans a final vote on the directive in June 2023, although formal adoption is not expected before 2024.",{"type":607,"attrs":681,"content":682},{"level":609,"textAlign":49},[683],{"text":684,"type":578},"Xinjiang projects to boost China’s domestic spodumene",{"type":573,"attrs":686,"content":687},{"textAlign":49},[688],{"text":689,"type":578},"The plants in Xinjiang plan to source lithium from local mines. This would make them among the very few integrated spodumene refinery projects in China. ",{"type":573,"attrs":691,"content":692},{"textAlign":49},[693],{"text":694,"type":578},"If the mining projects attached to each plant go online, Benchmark estimates around 65,000 of lithium will come from Xinjiang in 2028. This will be almost 54% of the total mined spodumene expected to come out of China in that year.",{"type":573,"attrs":696,"content":697},{"textAlign":49},[698],{"text":699,"type":578},"Integrated projects are an effective way for China to increase its lithium chemical production since sourcing rather than refinery construction is typically the limiting factor for its industry.  ",{"type":573,"attrs":701,"content":702},{"textAlign":49},[703,709],{"text":704,"type":578,"marks":705},"Spodumene sites are especially sought after",[706],{"type":585,"attrs":707},{"href":708,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":588},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-set-to-overtake-chile-as-worlds-second-largest-lithium-producer",{"text":710,"type":578}," since a large portion of the ore used by Chinese processors currently comes from Australia. ",{"type":573,"attrs":712,"content":713},{"textAlign":49},[714],{"text":715,"type":578},"Only 14% of China’s operating lithium mines are spodumene projects. Brine deposits, concentrated in Qinghai province, make up the majority of China’s lithium mines but these have proved to be of low quality and difficult to scale. ",{"type":573,"attrs":717,"content":718},{"textAlign":49},[719,721,727],{"text":720,"type":578},"Still, ",{"text":722,"type":578,"marks":723},"falling lithium prices",[724],{"type":585,"attrs":725},{"href":726,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":588},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/spodumene-prices-fall-32-easing-pressure-on-lithium-refiners",{"text":728,"type":578}," since November 2022 have put pressure on buyers of Xinjiang ores. Zhicun Lithium’s rights to exploit a Xinjiang mine may also be in question. ",{"type":573,"attrs":730,"content":731},{"textAlign":49},[732],{"text":733,"type":578},"The company’s subsidiary Zhite won exploitation rights to a mine in February 2023 with a bid of RMB 6.1 billion ($885 million), 400 times the starting price. Yet on April 23, Xinjiang’s natural resources department claimed that Zhite did not sign the contract to the exploitation rights transfer deal. ",{"type":573,"attrs":735,"content":736},{"textAlign":49},[737],{"text":738,"type":578},"Zhite’s largest shareholder is Zhicun Lithium Group, which owns 49% of the miner. ",{"type":607,"attrs":740,"content":741},{"level":609,"textAlign":49},[742],{"text":743,"type":578},"Tesla under pressure",{"type":573,"attrs":745,"content":746},{"textAlign":49},[747,749,755],{"text":748,"type":578},"Tesla is ",{"text":750,"type":578,"marks":751},"almost wholly reliant on CATL",[752],{"type":585,"attrs":753},{"href":754,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":588},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/tesla-takes-on-byds-crown-with-100-gwh-nevada-expansion",{"text":756,"type":578}," and a few other companies for its battery cell supply, admitting in its 2022 annual report that it has “limited flexibility in changing suppliers” and that any disruptions to these relationships could limit vehicle and energy storage production.",{"type":573,"attrs":758,"content":759},{"textAlign":49},[760],{"text":761,"type":578},"Tesla, along with other major car companies, is already being subject to an ongoing Senate Finance Committee inquiry investigating possible use of components made using forced labour in Xinjiang.",{"type":573,"attrs":763,"content":764},{"textAlign":49},[765],{"text":766,"type":578},"In April 2023, a group of Tesla shareholders expressed concern that the company’s current “sourcing policies and practices,” including potential ties to Xinjiang supply, “expose the Company to significant material risk” in an internal letter.",{"type":573,"attrs":768,"content":769},{"textAlign":49},[770],{"text":771,"type":578},"At the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting on 16 May 2023, shareholders rejected a floor proposal that pushed for independent audits of child and forced labour in Africa and China. Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, did nonetheless agreed to Tesla conducting a third party audit of its cobalt suppliers. ",{"type":573,"attrs":773,"content":774},{"textAlign":49},[775],{"text":776,"type":578},"Unions are also calling for action on forced labour supply chains. In December 2022, the US United Auto Workers Union demanded that carmakers move all supply chains out of Xinjiang, citing a report penned by researchers at Sheffield Hallam University on human rights abuses in the region. The union’s president Ray Curry also called on the US government to identify and ban imports of forced labour products.",{"type":573,"attrs":778,"content":779},{"textAlign":49},[780,782],{"text":781,"type":578},"*",{"text":783,"type":578,"marks":784},"Corrects story to add that CATL sold its stake in Zhicun Lithium in March. ",[785],{"type":786},"italic","China’s Xinjiang region is emerging as a significant lithium producer following $2 billion of investments into lithium mines and refineries. Lithium supply from Xinjiang could almost double to 65,000 LCE by 2028 from around 24,000 tonnes LCE in 2024, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. The Xinjiang plants plan to use spodumene deposits in the province, […]",[789],{"slug":561,"name":562,"content":790},{"job_title":564,"image":791,"bio":567,"linkedin":568},{"filename":566},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b68c520c-7ac9-4735-a9cd-90150aada7a6\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[795,797],{"slug":796,"name":8},"lithium",{"slug":798,"name":799},"sustainability","Sustainability","private",{"id":49,"alt":802,"name":802,"focus":802,"title":802,"source":802,"filename":803,"copyright":802,"fieldtype":804,"meta_data":805,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1b32294195/bm-urumqi-china-september-6th-2019-capital-of-the-xinjiang-uygur-autonomous-region.jpg","asset",{"alt":802,"title":802,"source":802,"copyright":802},"May 31, 2023","31st May 2023",[],[],1781603297126]