Lithium Stocks Slide as CATL Mine Prepares for Early Restart

Lithium producers have slumped after news that Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. is preparing to reopen an idled mine sooner than expected, a move that runs against wider official efforts to grapple with chronic industrial oversupply.

Executives at CATL, the world’s biggest battery producer, told employees in a meeting Tuesday to ready the resumption of work at the Jianxiawo site, ordering front-line workers to be recalled, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.