One Mine Auction Draws 3,448 Bids Amid Scramble For Lithium
- Controlling stake in Sichuan mine sells for 2 billion yuan
- China lithium carbonate prices surged over 400% in past year
Lithium is used in virtually all electric vehicle batteries.
Photographer: Carla Gottgens/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
An auction for a controlling stake in a Chinese lithium mine has garnered 3,448 bids, underscoring the scramble to secure the battery metal that’s key to the clean-energy transition.
The 54.3% stake in Yajiang Snowway Mining Development, which owns the mine in Sichuan, a southwestern province in China, was sold for about 2 billion yuan ($299 million), according to the JD.com’s judicial auction platform. That’s nearly 600 times higher than the starting price of about 3.35 million yuan. Details of the winning bidder weren’t immediately available.