Would-be lithium traders could learn from the development of the copper concentrate pricing structure to open the battery raw material to greater pricing transparency and liquidity, Lord Copper suggests.
In the metals business, we are accustomed to a particular form of price discovery that has largely stood the test of time, even through technological change and development. Despite occasional mutterings, nobody involved in the business would seriously dispute that an open form of discovery results - over the long term - in a price is generally an adequate reflection of supply and demand in the market. But what happens when a newcomer appears, which doesn't particularly lend itself to commodity pricing? Price discovery requires a level of spot trade and activity, as well as a clear specification on which to base a price assessment. I'm thinking here of the metal of the moment, lithium. Trying to establish a benchmark pricing for it is...