In other words, lithium investors need to know lithium mining companies in China, in addition to the New York-listed chemical companies that produce the material. Lithium expert Joe Lowry has even written extensively about China’s growing share of the lithium market. Read on for an overview of the leading lithium-producing companies through market capitalization.
One of the leading chemical and base materials companies in South America, the Chemical and Mining Society, is one of the world’s largest producers of lithium for use in batteries and other energy storage technologies. Like some of the other established, diversified mining activities, such as Albemarle and Ganfeng, SQM generates healthy double profit margins, has a lot of money to finance the expansion and has minimal debt. However, lithium stocks have been doing well in the past five years and prices have risen. Piemonte’s main focus is the development of lithium hydroxide, which is used in batteries for electric vehicles. We know that the electric car industry is growing and the demand for lithium is increasing.
Although SGML has been conducting a pilot project in Brazil since 2018, the mine is still under development and SGML is not generating any income. Chengdu, China-based Tianqi Lithi, is another major producer of lithium with mines in Australia, lithium mining stocks Chile and China. The company sees a massive recovery in profitability in 2021 as lithium prices have risen. However, Tianqi Lithium is only listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, making access difficult for most US investors.
A very risky action, SLI does not generate any income and has been the subject of a recent short sales report.
Livent also produces qualified battery-grade lithium hydroxide in both the United States and China. However, the list of the world’s leading lithium mining companies has changed in recent years. The above companies still produce most of the lithium in the world, but China also represents a large part of the production. The Asian nation was the third largest lithium-producing country in mining production in 2020, behind Australia and Chile. Check out our list of the world’s leading lithium manufacturers for market capitalization.