●In July, China’s imports of lithium carbonate increased by 108% year-on-year.

　　According to a report on the General Administration of Customs’ website on August 22, data released by the General Administration of Customs showed that in July, China’s imports of lithium carbonate totaled 9,369 tons, down 67% month-on-month but up 108% year-on-year. The average import price was USD 62,498 per ton, falling 3% month-on-month but rising 878% year-on-year. Industry insiders pointed out that in the third and fourth quarters of this year, China’s imports of lithium carbonate are likely to show a month-on-month upward trend in both volume and price. Additionally, data indicated that from January to July, China’s cumulative imports of lithium carbonate reached 80,695 tons, representing a year-on-year increase of 70%.

　 　● Luoyang Molybdenum’s net profit for the first half of the year increased by 72% year-on-year.

　　According to a report by Cai Lian She on August 22, Luoyang Molybdenum released its interim results for 2022, stating that the company achieved revenues of 91.77 billion yuan in the first half of the year, an 8% increase year-on-year; and net profit attributable to shareholders reached 4.15 billion yuan, up 72% from the same period last year. The announcement indicated that the company’s performance growth was driven by the release of capacity from expansion and renovation projects as well as optimization of production processes. Specifically, the processing volumes of the TFM copper-cobalt mine, the NPM copper-gold mine, and the Brazil phosphate ore mine all saw significant year-on-year increases. During the reporting period, copper production rose by 24.4% year-on-year, cobalt production surged by 49.3%, and niobium production climbed by 17.2%. With both higher product output and rising market prices, the company’s performance reached a new high for the same period in history.

　 　●Global financing for junior and mid-tier exploration companies declined by 18.7% month-on-month in July.

　　According to a report by S&P Global Market Intelligence on August 18, global mining financing for junior and intermediate exploration companies totaled $894 million in July, down 18.7% from June, driven by reduced financing for base metals and near-historically low financing levels for specialty metals. The number of deals fell from 188 in June to 174, while the number of large-scale financings—defined as those worth $2 million or more—declined from 73 to 55, accounting for 92% of total funds raised. The data also showed that from January to July, total financing for global junior and intermediate exploration companies reached $7.7 billion, a 42% decrease compared to the $13.3 billion raised during the same period in 2021.

　 　● Mexico Establishes State-Owned Lithium Company

　　According to a joint report by Reuters and Caixin.com on August 23, Mexican President López recently announced in the Official Gazette that Mexico passed a law nationalizing lithium resources in April of this year. A state-owned company has now been established and will begin operations within the next six months. The company will be named Litio para México (Lithium for Mexico). Analysts believe that Mexico’s move to strengthen its management of domestic lithium resources is driven by the global surge in new energy demand, which has sent the price of metallic lithium—a key raw material for power batteries—soaring.