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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":696,"relatedVideos":697},112472135576625,"c4736888-4dcb-4514-bd68-cb461b73f479","River pollution in Chinese lithium hub could threaten domestic production","river-pollution-in-chinese-lithium-hub-could-threaten-domestic-production","article/river-pollution-in-chinese-lithium-hub-could-threaten-domestic-production",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":553,"content":563,"excerpt":675,"featured":51,"reporter":676,"_editable":680,"component":681,"seo_title":543,"categories":682,"visibility":688,"author_company":49,"featured_image":689,"seo_description":675,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":694,"formattedArticleDate":695},"d3a54fee-b4eb-4c92-b6df-78cc00c507c7","2022-12-05 00:00",[550],{"slug":551,"name":552},"china","China",[554],{"slug":555,"name":556,"content":557},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":558,"image":559,"bio":561,"linkedin":562},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":560},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/14738033ec/matthew-bird.jpeg","Matthew writes, edits and produces content for Benchmark Intelligence and Benchmark Source across the whole mine to grid supply chain. He also acts as a liaison to the press. He has a PhD in electrochemistry from the University of Nottingham.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/birdmatthew/",{"type":564,"content":565},"doc",[566,573,578,583,598,603,608,613,618,625,630,635,640,645,650,655,660,665,670],{"type":567,"attrs":568,"content":569},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[570],{"text":571,"type":572},"The temporary shutdown of a lithium carbonate production line in central China due to polluted river water could impact domestic production and further add to the shortage of lithium supplies in the market.  ","text",{"type":567,"attrs":574,"content":575},{"textAlign":49},[576],{"text":577,"type":572},"Last month Yongxing Special Materials said it would temporarily suspend its lithium production line in Yichun, Jiangxi province, following government testing that found local river water was “abnormal.” Three more lithium companies with around 26,000 tonnes LCE of total capacity have also stopped production in Yichun due to maintenance. ",{"type":567,"attrs":579,"content":580},{"textAlign":49},[581],{"text":582,"type":572},"The pollution in the Jinjiang River, which flows from Sichuan province, is “visible to the naked eye,” according to Chinese news reports. Abnormal levels of thallium were found in the water, Yongxing said this week. ",{"type":567,"attrs":584,"content":585},{"textAlign":49},[586,588,596],{"text":587,"type":572},"The problems come amid a surge of ",{"text":589,"type":572,"marks":590},"investment",[591],{"type":592,"attrs":593},"link",{"href":594,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":595},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-ceramic-producers-move-into-lithium-industry-as-prices-hit-new-highs/","url",{"text":597,"type":572}," this year into domestic Chinese lithium mining assets, as Chinese battery-grade lithium prices have more than doubled this year. ",{"type":567,"attrs":599,"content":600},{"textAlign":49},[601],{"text":602,"type":572},"Jiangxi province is home to the majority of the world’s lepidolite mining capacity, with over 90% of global lepidolite mining occurring in the province last year. That has attracted investment from battery cell producers such as BYD and CATL as well as cathode producers. ",{"type":567,"attrs":604,"content":605},{"textAlign":49},[606],{"text":607,"type":572},"Shenzhen-listed Yongxing has a refinery that processes lepidolite concentrates to produce battery grade lithium carbonate. The company said on Friday it had restarted production after checking environmental protection equipment and improving its environmental management systems. ",{"type":567,"attrs":609,"content":610},{"textAlign":49},[611],{"text":612,"type":572},"The push into domestic mining helps Beijing reduce its dependence on overseas supplies and imports from Australia of lithium feedstock. Chinese battery-grade lithium prices were last trading at RMB 569,000 ($81,729) a tonne, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment.",{"type":567,"attrs":614,"content":615},{"textAlign":49},[616],{"text":617,"type":572},"“If they are required to stop all production in the whole city that will be a big blow to the industry,” Albert Li, an analyst from Benchmark, said.",{"type":619,"attrs":620,"content":622},"heading",{"level":621,"textAlign":49},4,[623],{"text":624,"type":572}," Pollution concerns",{"type":567,"attrs":626,"content":627},{"textAlign":49},[628],{"text":629,"type":572},"China’s domestic lepidolite resources are lower grade than Australian spodumene and result in more carbon emissions and waste production. That could cause concern for China’s environmental regulators. ",{"type":567,"attrs":631,"content":632},{"textAlign":49},[633],{"text":634,"type":572},"Last month Yongxing said that its lithium carbonate plant would be temporarily shut to “comply with an environmental inspection”, it said. A test of the water in the Jinjiang River by Gao’an city authorities had found “abnormalities,” it said. ",{"type":567,"attrs":636,"content":637},{"textAlign":49},[638],{"text":639,"type":572},"China’s Ministry of Ecology and the Environment is currently carrying out inspections, it said. ",{"type":567,"attrs":641,"content":642},{"textAlign":49},[643],{"text":644,"type":572},"This year Yongxing has produced over 13,770 tonnes of lithium carbonate, compared to 11,235 tonnes last year. ",{"type":567,"attrs":646,"content":647},{"textAlign":49},[648],{"text":649,"type":572},"This year ceramic producers in Gao’an city, which is under Yichun, have started to process lithium, attracted by the record high prices. Around 15% of the production lines in the city have been switched from ceramics production to lithium slag processing, according to Benchmark.",{"type":567,"attrs":651,"content":652},{"textAlign":49},[653],{"text":654,"type":572},"Yet the local authorities have stopped all approval of new production, according to Benchmark, due to environmental concerns. ",{"type":619,"attrs":656,"content":657},{"level":621,"textAlign":49},[658],{"text":659,"type":572},"CATL bows out ",{"type":567,"attrs":661,"content":662},{"textAlign":49},[663],{"text":664,"type":572},"The pollution problems come three months after battery producer CATL terminated a cooperation agreement it had with Yongxing to build lithium processing and mining in Yichun. ",{"type":567,"attrs":666,"content":667},{"textAlign":49},[668],{"text":669,"type":572},"In January the two companies had agreed to form a joint venture with a capacity to produce 50,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate per year.",{"type":567,"attrs":671,"content":672},{"textAlign":49},[673],{"text":674,"type":572},"In August its rival BYD also signed an agreement with the Yichun municipal government to invest RMB 28.5 billion to build a 100,000 tonnes a year lithium carbonate project, lepidolite processing facility and a 30 GWh battery cell plant. ","The temporary shutdown of a lithium carbonate production line in central China due to polluted river water could impact domestic production and further add to the shortage of lithium supplies in the market. Last month Yongxing Special Materials said it would temporarily suspend its lithium production line in Yichun, Jiangxi province, following government testing that […]",[677],{"slug":555,"name":556,"content":678},{"job_title":558,"image":679,"bio":561,"linkedin":562},{"filename":560},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"d3a54fee-b4eb-4c92-b6df-78cc00c507c7\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[683,686],{"slug":684,"name":685},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":687,"name":8},"lithium","private",{"id":49,"alt":690,"name":690,"focus":690,"title":690,"source":690,"filename":691,"copyright":690,"fieldtype":692,"meta_data":693,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3b35945643/bm-china-yichun.jpg","asset",{"alt":690,"title":690,"source":690,"copyright":690},"Dec 05, 2022","5th December 2022",[],[],1784294262996]