Safety incident reported at Albemarle Chilean lithium operations, Perks says

Dr. Cameron Perks, Product Director of Lithium at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, stated in a post to LinkedIn: “We have heard from multiple market participants of a major safety incident at Albemarle’s (ALB) Chilean lithium operations, with part of production reportedly suspended. ALB Chile accounts for around 24% of Chile’s 2025 LCE output, with the majority exported to China. On a pro-rated basis for the remaining four months of 2025, this would equate to approximately 7% of Chile’s remaining supply, or around 3% of China’s annual demand. While we will update our clients if confirmation is received, market chatter around this incident appears to have already contributed to recent strength in lithium carbonate futures prices. Further analysis will be available shortly on Source.” In a follow-up, Perks added: Just like the CATL shutdown, we don’t know how long it will really last – could be as short as a week or two. But I think its interesting to see how quickly new spreads in China and spills over into futures prices”