New York, March 2, 2026, 13:51 EST — Regular session.
China’s most-traded lithium carbonate contract swung sharply on Monday, hitting 179,500 yuan a tonne before sliding under 170,000 and then settling around 173,500 into the close, Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) said. Open interest — the number of outstanding futures contracts — fell by about 3,200 lots, a sign some traders cut exposure after the spike. 1
The move matters now because the lithium market is still trading the aftershocks of Zimbabwe’s decision last week to suspend exports of raw minerals and lithium concentrates, a key feedstock for Chinese processors. Zimbabwe shipped 1.128 million metric tons of lithium-bearing spodumene concentrate in 2025, most of it to China, Reuters reported. 2
U.S.-listed lithium miners were mixed in early afternoon trading. Albemarle was down 0.2% and SQM slipped 1%, while Sigma Lithium fell about 3%.
On Monday’s earnings call, SQM executives told analysts they expect first-quarter sales volumes to beat a year earlier by more than 15% and said pricing has improved since late 2025, with more than 80% of volume already under contract. Pablo Hernández said the company’s Q1 sales price will be “substantially higher” than its Q4 average of about $10 per kilogram and warned prices should be closer to current levels than last year but “remain volatile.” SQM is targeting about 260,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE, a standard measure that converts different lithium chemicals into one unit) in 2026 and said its Kwinana ramp-up has slipped into 2027, leaning sales toward spodumene concentrate — a mined rock that can be refined into lithium chemicals. 3
In London, AIM-listed Premier African Minerals said its new spodumene flotation plant at its Zulu project in Zimbabwe is due on site on Tuesday, March 3, with commissioning and optimisation targeted for the second quarter. Managing Director Graham Hill said the company is “maintaining dialogue” with Zimbabwe’s mines ministry and does not expect the export suspension to create “any problems for future production” from Zulu. 4
