Qinghai Salt Lake Industry (SZ:000792) Hong Yuan Qi Huo·2025-09-05 07:44Report Industry Investment Rating - No explicit industry investment rating is provided in the report. Report's Core View - On September 4, the main contract of lithium carbonate futures rebounded after hitting a low. The spot market had fair trading volume, and the basis premium decreased. The cost side saw an increase in the price of spodumene concentrate and a decrease in the price of lepidolite. The supply side witnessed a rise in lithium carbonate production last week, with a slight increase in the production of lithium carbonate from different raw materials. In terms of downstream demand, the production of lithium iron phosphate increased last week, while the production of ternary materials decreased. In September, the scheduled production of lithium cobalt oxide and lithium manganate increased. The production of power batteries increased last week. In terms of terminal demand, the year - on - year growth rate of new energy vehicle production slowed down in August, the 3C shipments were average, and the scheduled production of energy storage batteries increased in September. In terms of inventory, the registered warehouse receipts were 34,948 (+830) tons, and the social inventory decreased. Considering all factors, with good profits, high lithium carbonate production, rising downstream demand, and decreasing social inventory, the short - term supply and demand both strengthened. The impact from the Jiangxi mine end has been eliminated, and the short - term fundamentals have not changed much. The market is still easily affected by news. It is expected that the lithium carbonate price will fluctuate widely, and it is not advisable to be overly bearish. Operationally, it is recommended to conduct short - term range trading, appropriately buy options to protect positions, and take appropriate profit - taking on the previously bought straddle options. [1] Summary According to Related Information Market Data - Futures Prices: On September 4, 2025, the closing price of the near - month contract was 73,000 yuan/ton, that of the consecutive - one contract was 73,340 yuan/ton, the consecutive - two contract was 73,580 yuan/ton, and the consecutive - three contract was 77,700 yuan/ton. - Trading Volume and Open Interest: The trading volume of lithium carbonate futures was 712,151 (+269,351) lots, and the open interest was 353,674 (+7,626) lots. - Inventory: The registered warehouse receipts were 34,948 (+830) tons. - Spreads: The spread between the near - month and consecutive - one contracts was - 340 yuan/ton, the spread between the consecutive - one and consecutive - two contracts was - 140 yuan/ton, and the spread between the consecutive - two and consecutive - three contracts was 440 yuan/ton. The basis was 1,580 yuan/ton. - Spot Prices: The average price of SMM battery - grade lithium carbonate was 75,000 yuan/ton, and the price of spodumene concentrate (6%, CIF China) was 874 US dollars/ton. [1] Industry News - Salt Lake Mining Rights: Salt Lake Co., Ltd. (000792) responded during a research reception that the current mining rights compliance inspection is a new trend of stricter industry supervision, reflecting the strict control of the regulatory authorities over the compliance of lithium resource development and utilization activities. The company's mining business is fully compliant, and its production and operation are running stably. - Ioneer's Project: Ioneer reduced the leaching time and increased the plant output. The economic viability of its Rhyolite Ridge project in Nevada has been substantially improved. The updated mine plan shows that the unlevered net present value of the mine increased by 38% to $1.89 billion, and the unlevered internal rate of return rose to 16.8%. From the third to the twenty - fifth year, the annual production of lithium carbonate equivalent increased by 20% to 255,000 tons, and the production of lithium carbonate increased by 9% to 126,700 tons. The estimated all - sustaining cash cost of lithium carbonate equivalent is $5,626/ton, and the ore throughput increased by 25% from 2.4 million tons per year to 3 million tons per year. - Kodal Minerals' Project: Kodal Minerals obtained an export license for the spodumene concentrate produced from its Bougouni lithium project in southern Mali. The initial export volume is 125,000 tons, but the final administrative steps in the export process need to be completed. [1]