Mendeleev never expected that the periodic table of elements would become the “investment password” of A-Shares in 2021.
According to the data, as of the last trading day of 2021, Shenwan nonferrous metals sector ranked second in Shenwan industry with an annual increase of 40%, becoming one of the hottest sectors in 2021.
In the commodity market, the commodities with “project” are among the highest annual growth. According to the data of business society, the prices of lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide and magnesium increased by 432%, 317% and 214% respectively in 2021, which are the three best commodities in 2021.
Cinda Securities believes that the non-ferrous metal industry is ushering in the dual opportunities of new energy revolution and advanced new materials. On the one hand, the process of achieving the “double carbon” goal is also the process of enterprise Carbon Asset expansion, which drives the demand growth of new energy metals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, rare earth and silver. On the other hand, China’s new material industry is moving from large-scale development to high-quality development.
with lithium
“Rise with lithium” is a buzzword in the stock speculation circle in 2021. The new energy vehicle industry development plan (2021-2035) issued by the general office of the State Council proposes to encourage enterprises to improve the support capacity of key resources such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and platinum. In 2021, the share prices of listed companies with lithium resources were on the “rocket”.
According to the data, several lithium concept stocks doubled their share prices in 2021. For example, the annual increase of Tibet Mineral Development Co.Ltd(000762) is more than 300%, that of Tibet Summit Resources Co.Ltd(600338) is 278%, and that of Tianqi Lithium Corporation(002466) , Sinomine Resource Group Co.Ltd(002738) is more than 150%.
The price increase of lithium salt products far exceeded that of concept stocks. According to the data of business society, lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide increased by 432% and 317% respectively in 2021, which were the two commodities with the largest increase.
Under the mismatch pattern of supply and demand, Australia’s lithium concentrate sold at sky high prices for three times in 2021, becoming one of the most talked about events in the lithium battery industry chain.
On the afternoon of October 26, 2021 Beijing time, Pilbara, the main lithium mining enterprise in Australia, ended the third lithium concentrate auction in 2021. The final transaction price of the auction was US $2350 / T, setting a new record. The two auctions were held on July 29 and September 14, respectively, with transaction prices of 1250 US dollars / ton and 2240 US dollars / ton.
“As the price center of lithium products, the rising price of lithium carbonate drives the prices of all lithium products, such as lithium ore, lithium hydroxide, lithium hexafluorophosphate, metal lithium and so on.” Liu Xiaoyi, an analyst in the new energy industry of Shanghai Nonferrous Metals network, said, “from the perspective of the industrial chain, the price of raw material lithium carbonate continues to hit a record high, resulting in a joint price increase from cathode materials (including ternary materials, lithium cobaltate, lithium iron phosphate, lithium manganate, etc.) to cells.”
At present, the supply of lithium carbonate is still tight. According to the monitoring of Longzhong information, in January 2022, the downstream replenishment demand is still strong before the Spring Festival, and there are still many maintenance and production reduction plans at the lithium carbonate production end. It is expected that the mismatch between supply and demand will continue to support the lithium carbonate price to a new high.
rare things are expensive
Lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium… These metals have a common name: rare earth.
Rare earth is also one of the most sought after commodities in the market in 2021, among which the light rare earth praseodymium neodymium series is the most outstanding. According to the data of business agency, in 2021, the price of praseodymium oxide increased by 148%, the price of praseodymium neodymium oxide increased by 106%, the price of praseodymium neodymium alloy increased by 103%, and the price of metal praseodymium increased by 98%.
In 2021, several rare earth stocks doubled their share prices. As of the closing on December 31, the annual increase of China Northern Rare Earth (Group) High-Tech Co.Ltd(600111) exceeded 265%, that of China Minmetals Rare Earth Co.Ltd(000831) exceeded 205%, and that of Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Union Co.Ltd(600010) , Shenghe Resources Holding Co.Ltd(600392) exceeded 100%.
Rare earth is called “industrial vitamin” and is an important strategic resource in China. Statistics show that China has the largest rare earth reserves and is the only country in the world that can supply a large number of rare earth products of various grades and specifications.
In 2021, policies and measures to support the high-quality development of rare earth industry will emerge one after another.
In February and September, the Ministry of industry and information technology and other departments issued the total control indicators of rare earth mining, smelting and separation in 2021. According to statistics, the total control index of rare earth mining, smelting and separation in 2021 is 20% higher than that in 2020; China Rare Earth Group Co., Ltd. was established in Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province on December 23; The 14th five year plan for the development of raw material industry recently issued by the Ministry of industry and information technology and other departments proposes to strengthen and expand rare earth enterprise groups and encourage rare metal enterprises to accelerate integration.
Chang Guowu, deputy director of the raw material industry department of the Ministry of industry and information technology, said that rare earth enterprises are encouraged to carry out mergers and acquisitions in accordance with the principles of marketization and legalization, support rare earth enterprise groups to extend to the downstream industrial chain, and improve their own development ability and brand influence. Support advantageous regions, accelerate transformation and upgrading, and build rare earth industry clusters. Strengthen the docking and coordination between upstream and downstream rare earth industries, increase the promotion and application of rare earth high abundance element products such as lanthanum, cerium and yttrium, and improve the balanced utilization level of rare earth.
Many institutions believe that with the rapid growth of downstream demand for new energy and wind power, the continuous improvement of industry order and the limited increment of overseas mines, it is expected that the rare earth quota will continue to grow.
In terms of rare earth resource supply, at the 13th China Baotou Rare Earth Industry Forum held not long ago, Chang Guowu said to enhance the supply guarantee capacity of rare earth products. Appropriately and orderly put in rare earth exploration rights and mining rights, and strengthen the exploration of Baiyun OBO mine and medium and heavy rare earth resources. Further improve the management of Rare Earth total amount control indicators, and standardize the processing and utilization management of imported ores and industrial wastes containing rare earth resources. Study and improve the green mining supply of ionic medium and heavy rare earth mines in South China.
China Merchants Securities Co.Ltd(600999) believes that the new energy revolution is expected to drive a significant increase in rare earth demand. Benefiting from the rapid development of new energy vehicles, wind power and other fields, under the pattern of short supply, the price of rare earth will continue to rise, and the market scale and consumption of rare earth have entered a period of rapid growth.
(Shanghai Securities News)
