100 million yuan, 200 million yuan, 300 million yuan, 400 million yuan… Since 10:00 on May 16, a bankruptcy liquidation equity auction has been continuously increased and delayed in less than three days. This reflects the fierce competition for lithium resources.
On the Jingdong bankruptcy auction platform, the bidding announcement shows that the auction target is the 542857% equity of Yajiang snowway Mining Development Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as snowway mining) held by Chengdu Xingneng new materials Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Xingneng new materials), with a starting price of 3.3529 million yuan.
As of press time, the auction is still continuing. According to the information of the auction platform, at present, a total of 18 people have signed up for bidding, with a bid record of more than 2000 times. The latest bidding has exceeded 400 million yuan, attracting more than 500000 onlookers.
▍ mysterious players staged a “tug of war”, and many new entrants joined one after another
The reporter of the science and Innovation Board daily noted that since 15:40 on May 17, the two players with the tail numbers of “995” and “190” have continued to bid with each other, making the bidding price soar from 141 million yuan to 180 million yuan within eight hours.
As of 0:00 on May 18, the above bidding price has reached 184 million yuan, but the “tug of war” has not ended.
Only one hour later, at 1:21 on May 18, the player with the tail number of the bidding number “995” took the lead in bidding 200 million yuan, which pushed the bidding to a new climax. Then, there are many other players bidding to break the situation of “two males competing for hegemony”.
At the same time, the reporter of science and Innovation Board daily noted that according to the information of the auction platform, as of 13:56 on May 18, the number of participants had increased from 12 to 18 this also means that on the third day of the auction, six new participants still choose to join
For the participants in this auction, the market speculates that the potential interested enterprises include: Sichuan New Energy Power Company Limited(000155) , Sichuan Road & Bridge Co.Ltd(600039) , Youngy Co.Ltd(002192) , Chengxin Lithium Group Co.Ltd(002240) , Gcl Energy Technology Co.Ltd(002015) , etc.
in view of the above situation, the reporter of science and Innovation Board daily learned exclusively that Gcl Energy Technology Co.Ltd(002015) participated in the equity auction of snowway mining. At the same time, the reporter of “science and Innovation Board daily” sent relevant interview letters to the above four other enterprises by e-mail to confirm relevant information, but as of press time, no relevant response has been received
In addition, the reporter of science and Innovation Board daily found that Gcl Energy Technology Co.Ltd(002015) holds 4285714% of the equity of Sichuan business fund, the second largest shareholder of snowway mining
last September, Gcl Energy Technology Co.Ltd(002015) cooperated with the main body of New Hope Liuhe Co.Ltd(000876) group to invest in upstream resources of new energy, and the Sichuan business fund launched by New Hope Liuhe Co.Ltd(000876) group is the second largest shareholder of snowway mining in addition, Gcl Energy Technology Co.Ltd(002015) said at the performance meeting that the company plans to extend to the lithium industry of raw materials upstream of mobile energy. At present, it is planning and promoting the relevant transactions of potential investment target assets, which will be disclosed in time according to the progress of the project.
In April this year, Sichuan New Energy Power Company Limited(000155) announced that it planned to acquire 46.5% equity of Sichuan energy investment Dingsheng lithium Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Dingsheng lithium) by paying cash. Dingsheng lithium is one of the shareholders of Xingneng new materials.
▍ behind the equity auction: “lithium is the king” or “hot potato”
Tianyancha information shows that Xingneng new materials was established in 2008, mainly engaged in investment and development of new energy mineral resources, R & D, production and sales of lithium battery materials and batteries, system integration and industry services; The company holds a 57.1% stake in snowway mining.
The auction target is the 542857% equity of snowway mining held by Xingneng new materials. Snowway mining owns the exploration right of delanuoba lithium mine, but due to the debt dispute among shareholders, the development has stagnated in recent years.
Shanghai Ganglian E-Commerce Holdings Co.Ltd(300226) new energy business department lithium analyst Luo Xiaoli told the “science and Innovation Board daily” reporter that Yajiang County snowway mining has the mining right of delanongba lithium mine, with an industrial ore and low-grade ore volume of 24.924 million tons, a lithium oxide reserve of 290000 tons (equivalent to about 730000 tons of LCE), an average grade of 1.18%, a production scale of 1 million tons / year, the remaining service life of the mine of 26 years, and the mining method is open-pit + underground mining, It has not been mined yet
However, it is worth noting that the bidding and investment announcement shows that the exploration right of snowway company has expired on June 30, 2021. Previously, it has handled the reservation of exploration right for three times, and is currently continuing to handle the fourth reservation of exploration right.
according to the announcement of bidding and investment, citing the relevant handling personnel of the Department of natural resources of Sichuan Province, the relevant administrative departments are organizing the investigation because the exploration certificate is suspected of violating laws and regulations in the acquisition and addition of minerals. Therefore, the progress of exploration right reservation is slow and there is a risk of mining right loss
In addition, the reporter of the science and Innovation Board daily noted that as early as February 2020, 54.29% of the equity of snowway mining was auctioned on the Jingdong bankruptcy auction platform. At that time, the starting price was 849 million yuan. Later, the auction was suspended because “the significance of the seizure and removal of the subject matter by outsiders has been tried by the court”.
On April 16, 2021, Yajiang County People’s court made (2021) Chuan 3325 Po Shen No. 1 civil ruling, ruling to accept the bankruptcy liquidation of Yajiang County snowway Mining Development Co., Ltd.
“there’s a feeling of ‘untimely life’.” “If Xingneng new materials could sell the shares of snowway mining earlier, it might not go bankrupt and restructure. However, according to the lithium price at that time, it may not be able to sell a better price. After all, the lithium market at that time was far less popular than it is now,” industry practitioners lamented to the reporter of science and Innovation Board daily
▍ the battle for lithium resources may continue
According to Guotai Junan Securities Co.Ltd(601211) securities citing the data of Salt Lake Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences, salt lake brine accounts for the largest proportion of lithium resources in China, mainly distributed in Qinghai and Tibet. Spodumene resources are mainly distributed in Sichuan, with about 760000 tons of LCE; Lepidolite is mainly distributed in Jiangxi, with about 340000 tons of LCE However, the development degree of lithium resources in Sichuan is low. According to statistics, the proportion in the general survey stage is as high as 65%, and the proportion in the exploration stage is only 4%.
In terms of relevant policies and planning, Sichuan Provincial Department of natural resources issued the overall plan of mineral resources in Sichuan Province (20212025) (Exposure Draft), which pointed out that by 2025, the new resources of lithium ore will be at least 500000 tons of Li2O, and the total annual mining volume will be at least 500000 tons of ore, so as to accelerate the development and utilization of lithium resources in Sichuan; By 2035, an industrial cluster of lithium resources in Western Sichuan will be formed.
Looking back at the equity auction of snowway mining, Luo Xiaoli, a lithium analyst of Shanghai Ganglian E-Commerce Holdings Co.Ltd(300226) new energy business department, said to the reporter of science and Innovation Board daily, “The soaring auction price of lithium ore is more a reflection of people’s attention to lithium resources. Since the third quarter of 2020, the market price of lithium carbonate has risen sharply, and supply shortage and demand expansion are the main influencing factors. In the short term, people in the industrial chain will still be enthusiastic about lithium ore.”
Luo Xiaoli further explained: “the exploitation cycle of lithium resources is long, and most of them are 3-5 years according to the previous project experience. The project investment is also large, which is related to infrastructure, single water resources, energy, logistics and transportation, environmental protection, technical team and local mining regulations and policies.”
“since last year, the rising price of lithium carbonate and breaking through people’s psychological limit is the direct reason for the soaring bidding price. The main reason for the rising price of lithium carbonate is the combination of soaring demand and currency devaluation, but this situation will not become the norm.” Moke, founder and President of true lithium research, analyzed and said to the reporter of science and Innovation Board daily
At present, the battle for global lithium resources continues.
The latest news shows that Pilbara will hold the second lithium concentrate auction of the year on May 24. According to the research of Xiangcai securities, the high transaction price of Pilbara’s first auction reflects that lithium salt enterprises are still optimistic about the future market and purchase actively.
“nowadays, enterprises in the track have to face the high growth demand for lithium batteries and the rising pressure of raw material prices. In order to ensure the supply of upstream resources and enhance their competitiveness, enterprises may intensify their competition for lithium resources.” Insiders said
in the opinion of Moke, founder and President of true lithium research, “The cost increase caused by the soaring price of lithium resources has been transmitted to the terminal demand links such as electric vehicles after last year, which will certainly affect the sales of downstream products, resulting in the expected decline in the demand for lithium carbonate; at the same time, more capital will flow into the exploitation of lithium resources, which will lead to the continuous growth of lithium supply in the future. When the lithium supply is significantly greater than the demand, the lithium price will enter the market A sliding channel. This is why people often say that ‘lithium is a cyclical industry’. ”
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