Independent price assessors including Fastmarkets and Benchmark Mineral Intelligence marked spodumene concentrate roughly flat through the first quarter of 2026, ending a bruising two-year drawdown. The proximate cause is on the supply side: several Australian junior producers pulled tonnes offline in late 2025, and Chinese lepidolite conversion has been trimmed in response to persistently negative operating margins.
Executive summary
This is not a bull market. It is a market that has stopped bleeding, which is the necessary precondition for one.
- Desk
- Markets
- Stance
- Mixed
- Sources
- 2 cited
- Reading
- 5 min
Section 01
How the balance shifted
Section 02
What it means for producers
Marginal cost economics is doing its job. The operators best placed to survive the trough are the integrated majors with hard-rock resource, low strip and access to captive conversion. Everyone else is either idle or waiting for a strategic buyer.
The operators best placed to survive the trough are the integrated majors with hard-rock resource, low strip and access to captive conversion.
Data visualiser
All-in sustaining cost distribution, producer sample
- Q1 low1,180
- Median1,465
- Q3 high1,720
- Marginal1,985
| Stage | Value (US$/oz) |
|---|---|
| Q1 low | 1180 |
| Median | 1465 |
| Q3 high | 1720 |
| Marginal | 1985 |
Reported AISC for the producers covered by the markets desk this quarter.
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Sources and further reading
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