The chill at the end of 2025 has not slowed down the hot construction pace of the new energy industry. In the Jiaoyang New Materials Industrial Park of Shanghang Industrial Park in Fujian Province, a major project with an investment of 265 million yuan and an area of 80 acres is quietly entering the countdown to completion. This is the site of the 25000 ton battery grade lithium carbonate project invested and constructed by Fujian Zijin Lithium Element Material Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Zijin Mining. With the completion of equipment installation and process pipeline laying, the project only has the final work of improving auxiliary facilities and greening construction. It is expected to complete commissioning and enter the trial production stage by the end of December 2025. This is not only the conclusion of a key project, but also a crucial step for mining giant Zijin Mining to deepen its layout in the new energy materials field and connect the industrial chain.

The lithium battery ambition and speed of mining giants

Against the backdrop of severe fluctuations in the global lithium carbonate market prices and lingering industry gloom, Zijin Mining's expansion measures are particularly prominent. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the price of lithium carbonate fell to around 70000 yuan per ton, and the risk of expanding production is self-evident. But Zijin Mining not only did not stop the project, but also demonstrated astonishing construction speed: the project was announced in September 2024, obtained construction permits in November, completed pile foundations in January 2025, topped out the main factory building in April, lifted steel structures in June, and equipment was installed in October. This series of compact nodes clearly outlines its firm determination to enter the field of lithium battery materials.

This ambition began in 2021. Back then, Zijin Mining officially entered the lithium salt industry by acquiring the 3Q Salt Lake project in Argentina, and immediately established Zijin Lithium Yuan Company, entering the field of lithium iron phosphate materials. The upcoming 25000 ton battery grade lithium carbonate project is the core outcome of its independent and controllable improvement of the industrial chain. The project adopts advanced environmental protection technology of carbonization combined with resin impurity removal, using crude or industrial grade lithium carbonate as raw material for purification and upgrading. After full production, it is expected to achieve an annual operating income of 1.991 billion yuan, injecting strong momentum into Zijin Mining's lithium battery blueprint.

Building an integrated cost moat

The profound significance of this lithium carbonate project far exceeds its own production capacity. It marks the initial completion of the industrial chain closed-loop from key raw materials to positive electrode materials by Zijin Mining in its layout of the Shanghang Industrial Park. Zijin Lithium has deployed four lithium battery material projects in the park, including the lithium carbonate project, a 20000 ton/year battery grade iron phosphate project, a 50000 ton/year lithium iron phosphate positive electrode material project, and a comprehensive utilization project for retired lithium iron phosphate batteries planned to be put into operation in 2025.

Thus, a clear integrated industrial chain of "battery grade lithium carbonate iron phosphate lithium iron phosphate" has been formed. This is crucial for cost control, as lithium carbonate accounts for over 40% of the cost of lithium iron phosphate cathode materials, and its price fluctuations directly affect the profit margin of end products. Against the backdrop of lithium carbonate prices jumping to 94000 to 97000 yuan per ton in the fourth quarter of 2025, having self supplied lithium carbonate production capacity will greatly enhance the cost resistance and market competitiveness of Zijin Lithium Yuan's downstream iron phosphate lithium business, and build a solid cost moat.

Accelerating Capacity Release and Future Demand Game

The project of Zijin Mining is a microcosm of the continuous expansion of domestic lithium carbonate production capacity. Since the explosive growth of new energy vehicles in 2021, China's lithium carbonate production capacity construction has entered the fast lane, jumping from about 415500 tons/year in 2021 to 1.3 million tons/year in 2024. In 2025, new production capacity, including Zijin Mining's Argentine Salt Lake project and Ganfeng Lithium's overseas project, will continue to be released. The industry expects domestic lithium carbonate production to reach 926000 tons by 2025, a year-on-year increase of over 30%.

On one hand, there is rapid growth on the supply side, and on the other hand, there is uncertainty on the demand side. This has raised concerns in the market about whether the price of lithium carbonate can continue to recover. However, the industry remains optimistic about medium - to long-term demand, with growth driven mainly by the continued penetration of new energy vehicles and the explosion of the energy storage industry. Some institutions predict that the sales of new energy vehicles in China will continue to grow significantly in 2026, and the growth rate of the energy storage industry may reach as high as 40% to 60%. Ganfeng Lithium Chairman Li Liangbin even predicted that if the demand growth rate exceeds 30% in 2026, the price of lithium carbonate may rise to a high of 150000 to 200000 yuan per ton. Keywords: New Energy Information Network, Latest News on New Energy

Therefore, the battery grade lithium carbonate project put into operation by Zijin Mining is not only a strategic bottleneck in the industry's cyclical fluctuations, but also a major test of its integrated industrial chain resilience. In the new era of parallel competition between production capacity and demand, enterprises that have cost advantages and resource synergy capabilities may win a more proactive position in the future industry landscape. Editor/Yang Beihua