Tianqi Lithium

Business

Tianqi (天齐锂业股份有限公司) mines and refines lithium. Its position rests on the Greenbushes spodumene mine in Western Australia, run through its controlled subsidiary Talison, a 21.90% stake in Chile's SQM, and lithium chemical plants in China (2026 interim report, pp. 7, 14).

Results

In the first half of 2026 revenue rose 153.3% to ¥12.24bn and net profit attributable to shareholders was ¥4.24bn, against ¥84m a year earlier (p. 10). By business (p. 39):

• Lithium ore: ¥5.12bn at a 74.2% gross margin.
• Lithium compounds and derivatives: ¥7.10bn at a 57.4% gross margin.

Investment income from associates, mainly SQM, was ¥1.50bn, 16.2% of pre-tax profit (p. 39).

Greenbushes

Greenbushes has five concentrators with a combined capacity of about 2.14 million tonnes a year of concentrate. Talison produced about 738,000 tonnes in the first half, 722,000 tonnes of it chemical grade. A third chemical-grade plant produced its first qualifying concentrate on 30 January 2026 and is due to finish ramping up during the year (p. 14).

Prices

The company describes battery-grade lithium carbonate spot prices in 2026 as rising fast, holding high, rising again and then falling back: about ¥117,000 a tonne at the start of the year, about ¥180,000 in January, a low near ¥132,000 in February, above ¥200,000 at one point in May, and near ¥140,000 in July. It lists supply worries, storage demand, export-rule changes and a Zimbabwe suspension of lithium ore and concentrate exports among the causes (pp. 27, 28).

Where it stands

Tianqi's mining business earned a higher margin than its refining (74.2% against 57.4%), and unlike Ganfeng it has no battery arm to dilute the margin. Both companies' 2026 profits follow the same lithium price recovery.