Australia's Atlantic Lithium has obtained approval from Ghana's parliament to develop the Ewoyaa project—the country's first lithium mine—and will be subject to revised royalty terms linked to market prices.

[SMM Analysis:Rare Earth Ore Imports Surge in Early 2026, Exceeding Demand and Causing Surplus] According to the latest data from the General Administration of Customs, from January to February 2026, China’s imports of mixed rare earth carbonate were about 3,013.7 mt, up 321% YoY. Over the same period, imports of unlisted rare earth oxides were about 12,860.4 mt, also posting a sharp increase of 209% YoY.

From March 11 to 13, 2026, the 14th InterBattery 2026 was held at the COEX Convention & Exhibition Center in Seoul, South Korea. As the largest and most representative battery industry exhibition in South Korea, it is on par with China’s CIBF and CLNB.

In 2026, the correction in lithium carbonate prices drove up lithium battery production costs. Coupled with uncertainties in lithium resources supply, cost pressure across the new energy industry became increasingly prominent. Leveraging the advantages of abundant sodium resources, balanced distribution, and controllable costs, sodium-ion batteries have leapt from being a “backup option” for lithium batteries to a key direction for industry breakthrough...

Raw material side, spot lithium carbonate prices fluctuated this week, cobalt sulphate prices remained temporarily stable, and nickel sulphate prices dropped slightly.

Spot Lithium Carbonate Fluctuated Downward from 3.16-3.19.

This week, the second-life battery market showed clear structural divergence. On the cost side, although lithium carbonate prices saw a temporary uptick this week, they trended downward overall; nickel sulphate prices edged down slightly, while cobalt sulphate prices remained stable. The cost side was mainly affected by fluctuations in lithium carbonate prices. On the supply side, driven by terminal energy storage demand, inventories of new battery cells at battery cell manufacturers were critically low, and the supply of Grade A battery cells was heavily diverted, causing supply in the second-life battery market to remain tight. On the demand side, 280Ah and 314Ah energy storage battery cells were subject to concentrated procurement in the market, resulting in severe shortages and noticeably rising prices. Meanwhile, demand in the EV sector remained weak, inventory was relatively sufficient, and second-life power battery cell prices stayed stable.

Zangge Mining has released its 2026 operational targets, highlighting significant expansions in lithium carbonate production. The company is advancing a 6,000-ton/year expansion at the Chaerhan Salt Lake, which will bring its total capacity there to 16,000 tons/year. Meanwhile, the highly anticipated Mamicuo Salt Lake project (Phase I: 50,000 tons/year) is scheduled to commence production in Q3 2026. Additionally, the Mamicuo Mining entity, in which Zangge holds a 26.95% indirect stake, plans to produce 20,000 to 25,000 tons of lithium carbonate in 2026, bolstering the company's equity resource portfolio.

This week, lithium ore prices continued to follow lithium carbonate in a fluctuating downward trend. Supply side, the volume of cargoes available for circulation in the market gradually decreased recently, while mines outside China showed stronger willingness to make shipments amid fluctuations, with some mines outside China conducting several auctions during the week. Demand side, inquiries and procurement sentiment for lithium ore remained relatively strong, but due to the large recent market fluctuations, back-and-forth negotiations between upstream and downstream intensified, and wait-and-see sentiment persisted, though overall transaction activity improved. Overall market transaction prices continued to follow the fluctuating trend in lithium carbonate futures.

On March 16, 2026, Xi'an Lanshen New Material Technology Co., Ltd. announced the formal termination of the "Sales Contract for a 3,000 Tons/Year Battery-Grade Lithium Carbonate Extraction Plant" signed with HANACOLLA S.A. from Argentina. The core reason for this contract termination was a change in the overall project planning. Given that the "Sales Contract" was still within its validity period and partially fulfilled, the two parties reached an agreement after friendly negotiations. According to the signed "Termination Agreement," the original sales contract will be terminated from the date of the agreement's signing.