Lithium prices and stocks soar after Zangge Mining halt

[Redator]

Lithium prices in China jumped to a near‑three‑month high and lithium stocks rallied after Zangge Mining halted operations in Qinghai province.

Zangge, a subsidiary under Zijin Mining, suspended lithium production at a Qinghai mine after receiving a stop‑work order over non‑compliance from Haixi prefecture officials. The unit, targeting 11,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate this year with 5,350  tonnes already produced in H1, will need regulatory approval to resume.

The halt comes as the global lithium market struggles with a glut of the material, and the domestic sector faces tighter scrutiny from Beijing, which has pledged to regulate excessive price competition across a host of industries. 

The most-active lithium carbonate contract on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange rose as much as 5.5% before paring gains to 2.5% on Thursday.

Despite the dramatic price move, analysts see limited long‑term impact on supply.

“Speculative sentiment is pretty strong right now but the actual impact will be limited,” Chen Jing of Galaxy Futures told Reuters.

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The futures rally triggered gains in lithium producers. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE: SQM) rose 6.19% , Albemarle (NYSE: ALB) added 5.95%, while Sigma Lithium (NYSE: SGML) was up 9.97%.