Benchmark begins public consultation on increasing FOB South America lithium carbonate prices to weekly publishing frequency and updating grade specifications

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence announced today that it has started a formal public consultation on changes to its Lithium Price Assessment Methodology.

Frequency and delivery terms

Benchmark plans to update the frequency and delivery terms of its FOB South America lithium carbonate price assessment.

Following feedback and discussion with a number of market participants, Benchmark proposes to increase the regularity of its FOB South America lithium carbonate pricing to weekly, to be published on Wednesdays, by 4 p.m. (London).

Moreover, Benchmark proposes to include only spot transactions, with a standardised 60-day delivery window, in the weekly assessment.

Grade

In addition to the above, Benchmark proposes to define the FOB South America grade as battery grade lithium carbonate (min 99.5%).

Origin ports

Following further feedback and discussion with a number of market participants, Benchmark proposes to broaden the assessment's origin basis to include cargoes loaded at both Antofagasta, Chile and Buenos Aires, Argentina, rather than Antofagasta alone, to better capture the full range of South American export flows.

As South American lithium production and export volumes continue to grow, Benchmark continues to monitor and evolve its price assessments to ensure they remain reflective of prevailing market and trading conditions.

The proposed changes would impact the following grade currently collected by Benchmark:

Lithium Carbonate; Min 99.0%; FOB South America; USD/Tonne

Which will become:

Lithium Carbonate; Min 99.5%; FOB South America (spot); USD/Tonne

Benchmark Price Assessments – contact us:

Benchmark invites feedback from active market participants by the latest 14 September 2026.

Comments are welcomed via submission to: prices@benchmarkminerals.com