Australia's lithium concentrate (spodumene) exports were only marginally higher in the first half of 2025 against a year earlier despite new contribution from Australian lithium producer Liontown Resources.
Spodumene exports edged up to about 1.98mn t in the first half of the year, up by 2.8pc on the year, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data supplied through trade data platform Global Trade Tracker.
Almost 94pc of Australian spodumene exports, or around 1.86mn t, went to China, up by 2pc on the year.
This was followed by Indonesia with 66,678t imported in the first half of 2025, up from 25,098t in the same period a year earlier. Indonesia replaced South Korea as the second-largest importer of Australian spodumene. Chinese lithium salts producer Chengxin Lithium in June 2024 started pilot production at its 60,000 t/yr lithium plant in Indonesia that extracts lithium from hard rock ore.
Exports to South Korea fell by 33pc on the year to 46,816t. South Korean conglomerate Posco in 2024 completed its lithium hydroxide facility — a joint venture with Australian lithium producer Pilbara — and is currently ramping up the two trains at the site. But Posco does not plan to run the facility at full capacity unless it receives more orders because this will generate more losses given the weak lithium market, it said in the week to 3 August.
Liontown produced 294,521t of spodumene concentrate with an average grade of 5.2pc in July 2024-June 2025, its first production year. Its production in the first half of 2025 was below its guidance because of lower-than-expected lithium recovery, it said.
Australian mining group IGO — which runs the Greenbushes mine alongside major Chinese firm Tianqi Lithium and US-based producer Albemarle — and Pilbara raised production in the July 2024-June 2025 financial year. But Australian metal producer Mineral Resources (MinRes) lowered spodumene output in the same period because it placed its Bald Hill site into care and maintenance in late 2024. Pilbara and MinRes' average realised spodumene prices fell in the latest financial year, while Liontown's prices declined on the quarter in April-June.
Argus-assessed prices for 6pc grade lithium concentrate (spodumene) fell to $740-800/t cif China on 5 August from $760-820/t on 31 July, given pressure from falling lithium carbonate prices and renewed pessimism in the market about oversupply.
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