Powered by MOMENTUM MEDIA
moneymanagement logo
 
 

Lithium firms sees four-figure gains

ESG/mining/resources/lithium/

5 November 2021
| By Laura Dew |
image
image image
expand image

While much focus is given to the mining of coal, the two best-performing miners of the last three years have been focused on lithium – used for batteries and electric vehicles.

Over the three years to 3 November, 2021, the best-performing stock in the ASX Metals and Mining index was Liontown Resources, a company engaged in the exploration of lithium. This returned 9,584% over three years.

The second was Vulcan Energy which described itself as “producing the world’s first, premium, battery-quality lithium chemicals with zero carbon footprint”.

This returned 5,655% compared to returns by the ASX 200 of 39% over the same period.

This compared to returns by Australia’s largest miners, BHP and RIO, of 35% and 48% respectively.

Other popular lithium producers included Mineral Resources, Pilbara Minerals and Piedmont Lithium, although none had seen such extreme gains. Piedmont Lithium was up 553%, Pilbara Minerals was up 190% and Mineral Resources was up 187%.

One way that Australian investors could access lithium was via an exchange traded fund (ETF) with ETF Securities having launched a Battery and Lithium ETF.

This returned 118% over three years to 3 November, 2021 compared to returns of 48.7% by the commodity and energy sector within FE Analytics’ Australian Core Strategies universe.

ETF Securities chief executive, Kris Walesby, said it expected demand for battery production to rise significantly as battery technology was critical to the renewable energy and electric vehicle industry.

Commenting on the rise of lithium, Joel Fleming, portfolio manager at Yarra Capital Management, said: “While the digitisation thematic has unquestionably created a myriad of new industries and company champions over the last decade, we see ESG as the next great acceleration, with significant spend required to address a range of environmental issues in particular. 

“The recent strength in the lithium sector is a case in point, with the electrification theme well understood and production shifting to battery powered vehicles to support strong medium term demand forecasts. The major listed lithium companies were all microcaps in the recent past as this broad thematic continued to build.”

 

Read more about:

AUTHOR

Recommended for you

sub-bgsidebar subscription

Never miss the latest news and developments in wealth management industry

MARKET INSIGHTS

Significant ethical issues there. If a relationship is in the process of breaking down then both parties are likely to b...

6 days 13 hours ago

It's not licensees not putting them on, it's small businesses (that are licensed) that cannot afford to put them on. The...

1 week 6 days ago

So we are now underwriting criminal scams?...

6 months 2 weeks ago

After last month’s surprise hold, the Reserve Bank of Australia has announced its latest interest rate decision....

1 week 1 day ago

Libby Roy has been appointed as an independent non-executive director on the board of AZ NGA....

4 weeks 1 day ago

A professional year supervisor has been banned for five years after advice provided by his provisional relevant provider was deemed to be inappropriate, the first time th...

3 weeks ago

TOP PERFORMING FUNDS

ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
74.26 3 y p.a(%)
3