Tianqi Lithium has first loss in five-and-a-half years as lithium prices crash

Tianqi Lithium, one of the world’s biggest lithium producers, swung to a net loss in the third quarter as prices for the battery metal slumped.

Tianqi, which owns around a quarter of Chilean lithium producer SQM, processes spodumene, a mineral mined for its lithium content, into chemicals such as lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide that are used in electric vehicle batteries.