According to the report of The Asahi Shimbun on July 12, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released an important mineral market report for battery production for the first time on July 11. The report analysis points out that due to the increase in sales of electric vehicles and other factors, the market size of important minerals will increase to $320 billion in 2022, double the size of five years ago. However, in the refining field of some minerals, monopolies are intensifying. The report expressed concerns about the imbalance in the supply chain.
Important minerals refer to lithium, nickel, cobalt, etc. used in the production of electric vehicle batteries. The above report analyzes that from 2017 to 2022, the demand for lithium doubled, and in the context of the transition to clean energy, the demand for important minerals increased significantly.
The development investment of large resource companies is also increasing, with a 20% increase in investment in 2021 compared to the previous year and a 30% increase in 2022. These investments will lower the prices of important minerals and promote the transition to clean energy.
On the other hand, the monopoly of a few enterprises in the mining and refining of important minerals continues. The report shows that in the field of lithium refining, the top three companies collectively hold 99% of the market share, which has been ongoing since 2019. In terms of cobalt refining, the total market share of the top three companies increased from 83% in 2019 to 90% in 2022.