Lithium supply chain threatened by East-West geopolitical tensions – report – by Staff (Mining.com – July 6, 2021)

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Geopolitical risks and the US-China tensions pose threats to the global lithium supply chain, a new report by Fitch Solutions Country Risk & Industry Research states.

Based on questions asked by the participants in the webinar “Global Lithium Outlook – Key Themes For A Fast-Growing, Fast-Evolving Sector,” the report presents the viewpoint of Fitch’s experts on what the future of the lithium market may look like.

According to the analyst, increasingly tense relationships between the West – a rising battery manufacturer and key EV end market and China – a dominant lithium-processing player and current leading battery manufacturer – are the main issues raising risks over the resilience of supply chains.

One of the considerations behind this assertion is the fact that on the supply front, the lithium market is geographically quite concentrated from a production and ownership perspective, both on the upstream front with extraction, dominated by Australia, Chile and China, and the downstream front, with chemical processing and battery manufacturing, currently dominated by China.

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