Li3atlas is compiled from company filings and official statistics; every data point is reviewed before publication. Each value links to the document it came from. Nothing is estimated: where a figure has not been published, the gap stays visible.
Satellite views are Copernicus Sentinel-2 images, checked against the site location before they are shown.
All volumes are restated to lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) with fixed factors:
| From | To LCE | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Spodumene concentrate SC6 (6% Li₂O) | ÷ 7.5 t SC6 per t LCE (volumes; rounded). Costs use the exact factor 40.44 ÷ (6.0% × 90%) = 7.49, see the table below | production, capacity |
| Spodumene concentrate, grade not stated | ÷ 8.0 t SC per t LCE | production, capacity |
| Lithium hydroxide (LiOH·H₂O) | × 0.88 (costs and prices per t LiOH ÷ 0.88) | production, costs, prices |
| Lithium metal content (Li) | × 5.323 | USGS and other official totals |
| Lithium carbonate (Li₂CO₃) | × 1 | |
| Battery output reported in Ah (万Ah) | GWh = Ah × V (nominal cell voltage, default 3.2 V for LFP) | battery demand |
For the cost curve the concentrate needed per tonne of LCE follows the grade: t concentrate per t LCE = 40.44 ÷ (Li₂O grade % × recovery), because Li₂CO₃ carries 40.44% Li₂O equivalent. At the default 90% recovery:
| SC6 | 7.5 |
| SC5.5 | 8.2 |
| SC5.3 | 8.5 |
| SC5.2 | 8.6 |
| SC5.0 | 9 |
Where a company publishes no unit cost for an operation, Li3atlas computes one from the segment figures in its filing: segment cost of sales ÷ tonnes sold. The calculation is done in the database from the filed inputs and the result is labelled “Implied · no reported cost”. It is a fully loaded accounting cost (it includes depreciation, royalties and any purchased feed), so it is higher than, and not like-for-like with, a reported cash cost. Company totals are never split across assets.
The cost curve compares operations in US$ per tonne of LCE delivered as chemicals:
All assumptions can be changed under “Economics” on the cost curve; the change applies to every page in your browser.
History is official world mine production (USGS). Forward years hold the rest of the world at the last official year and add each asset's filed production plan, weighted by the risk of its stage:
| Stage | Weight |
|---|---|
| Producing | 100% |
| Ramping | 95% |
| Construction | 85% |
| Development / DFS | 50% |
| PFS / scoping | 30% |
| Exploration | 0% |
| Curtailed (restart plan) | 50% |
Processing loss: 5% of mined supply is deducted before it is compared with demand. Non-battery uses (glass, ceramics, greases): +8% on top of battery demand.
Battery demand is converted to lithium with 0.65 kg LCE per kWh for LFP cells and 0.7 kg LCE per kWh for NMC/NCA cells (including production scrap). These are assumptions and can be changed in the battery-demand panel. For each cell maker the intensity is weighted by the chemistry of its plants on Li3atlas, or the LFP/NMC average if none is on file.
In the forward model the intensity is weighted by the LFP share of China's battery installations over the latest twelve months reported by CABIA; until those figures are on file, LFP and NMC are weighted 50/50.
Low, medium or high, based on the royalty regime, export rules and recent policy changes. Country notes are shown with their source.
If a figure is wrong or out of date, use “Report an error” on the asset or company page, or write to stocksbotee@gmail.com with the page link and, ideally, the document that shows the correct figure. Corrections are checked against the filing and published with their source and date in the asset's change history.