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It has supported mine development by taking stakes in mining companies to help battery materials makers that do not have mines overseas like those owned by China's top lithium producers Ganfeng Lithium (002460.SZ), (002460.SZ) and Tianqi Lithium (002466.SZ). Separating lithium from lepidolite can cost as much as 100,000 yuan per metric ton, compared to 40,000-50,000 yuan for brine and 50,000-60,000 yuan for spodumene, analysts said. 'NATURAL RESOURCES CHAOS'Further dimming the outlook for lepidolite, environmental damage is a growing concern. As it gets stricter now, lithium resources in Yichun will lose their competitiveness with the higher costs for environmental protection," Ma said. UBS analysts see China's supply of lithium from lepidolite tripling to 280,000 metric tons, or 13% of global supply, between 2022 and 2025, well short of Yichun's target.

Persons: YICHUN, Yang Yaohua, Yang, Wu Wei, Eric Norris, Norris, Yongxing, Yichun, Ma Jun, Ma, Vicky Zhao, Li Qi, Siyi Liu, Dominique Patton, Ernest Scheyder, Tony Munroe, Sonali Paul Organizations: Australia, Guosen, Macquarie, Gotion High Tech, CRU, Xiamen University, Energy, Corp, Reuters, Materials Technology, Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs, UBS, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, Beijing Newsroom, Thomson Locations: China, Yichun, lepidolite, Beijing, Sichuan, Qinghai, Tibet, Shanghai, Jin, U.S, Jiangxi, Houston

Ganfeng said in a response to Reuters that no discussions on a floor price had taken place. Zhicun Lithium, one of the top lithium carbonate producers in China, was also represented at the meeting, said four of the people, but could not be reached for comment. It is not clear how long the companies, which account for over half China's lithium carbonate output, will follow the floor price. However, some buyers were sceptical that producers would stick to the floor price, given the sluggish demand. "If we don't buy, someone will eventually drop the price," said a lithium carbonate buyer briefed on the decision.

Spot lithium carbonate prices assessed by Fastmarkets fell to 260,000 yuan ($38,079.06) per tonne this week, less than half the price quoted last November. Five analysts polled by Reuters last month had expected the price would drop to 300,000 yuan by the end of this year. "The unprecedented price cuts among traditional auto makers will eat EVs' market share in the short term, hitting lithium demand further," said Vicky Zhao, a Beijing-based senior analyst at Fastmarkets. Lithium prices in the United States and Europe have also fallen, albeit less sharply, amid rising but still tight supplies and a stronger outlook for EV sales. ($1 = 6.8279 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Siyi Liu and Dominique Patton; Editing by Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Maike's absence has encouraged some direct trade between sellers and buyers in the market but they face challenges. Fitch Solutions expects China's copper consumption to rise 4.4% this year, after just 1.5% growth in 2022. Anti-pandemic restrictions had also prolonged smelter maintenance and curtailed copper production growth last year, especially in the Guangdong area. Some smelters there have hiked their offers for 2023 copper premiums to 300 yuan a tonne, up from 200 yuan a tonne last year, a Shanghai-based trader said. While Maike's disappearance from the import market has been blamed for disrupting supplies and pricing, China's refined copper imports increased 6.6% in 2022, according to customs data.

The flurry of deals comes even as warnings emerge that lithium prices, driven to records by rapid growth in electric vehicles, may peak next year because of a looming supply glut. It also bought majority stakes in the Lakkor Tso Lithium Salar mine in China's Tibet region and the Xiangyuan lithium mine in Hunan province. Zijin has a market capitalisation of about $35 billion and net profit of 15.7 billion yuan ($2.2 billion) last year. Some firms are also working to develop alternative battery materials, which could reduce lithium demand in the long term. Zijin told investors recently it made its mine acquisitions based on lithium carbonate prices of 100,000 yuan a tonne.

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