New York, February 12, 2026, 12:57 (ET) — Regular session
- Albemarle slid after it moved to idle Kemerton’s remaining processing train in Western Australia.
- China’s battery-grade lithium carbonate prices edged up again, but spot trading stayed thin, SMM reported.
- Traders are weighing supply curbs against fresh projects, including Congo’s Manono output targeted for June.
Albemarle shares fell 6.8% to $163.50 on Thursday after the company said it would idle the remaining operating “train,” or processing unit, at its Kemerton lithium hydroxide plant in Western Australia, effective immediately. Chief executive Kent Masters said “recent lithium price improvements” were “not enough” to offset the strain on “Western hard-rock lithium conversion operations.” 1
The move matters because investors have been watching for signs that high-cost capacity is finally coming out of the system after a long price slide hammered margins across the battery-materials chain. Kemerton was built to support a Western supply chain, but the economics have been hard to make work outside China’s dominant refining base.
It also lands as traders try to pin down whether the latest uptick in lithium prices is a bounce or the start of something steadier. Spot pricing in China is still the reference point for much of the market, and any slowdown there tends to show up quickly in producer cash flow.
Shanghai Metals Market put its battery-grade lithium carbonate index at 142,168 yuan per metric ton on Thursday, with battery-grade prices at 138,000–147,000 yuan/mt. SMM said transactions were sluggish as logistics slowed and downstream buyers largely finished stockpiling for February. 2
The plant decision followed Albemarle’s quarterly results, where the company swung deeper into the red. Albemarle posted a fourth-quarter net loss attributable to shareholders of $455.9 million, or $3.87 per share, and an adjusted loss of 53 cents per share, Reuters reported, citing LSEG consensus that had pointed to a 41-cent loss. 3
In its earnings release, Albemarle laid out price-linked scenarios that underline how exposed the business remains to the lithium tape. Using an “observed market price” case tied to roughly $20/kg lithium market prices (lithium carbonate equivalent, a standard way to compare lithium chemicals), Albemarle projected 2026 net sales of $5.7–$6.0 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $2.4–$2.6 billion; at about $10/kg, the ranges fall to $4.1–$4.3 billion and $0.9–$1.0 billion. The company also pegged 2026 capex at $550–$600 million and said about 40% of its salts volume sits on long-term agreements. 4
Weakness spilled across the space. Chilean miner SQM fell 5.3% to $71.28, Lithium Americas dropped 4.8% to $4.53, Sigma Lithium slid 3.7% to $13.12, and the Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF was down 2.2% at $72.16.
Still, shutdown headlines do not guarantee a clean rebound in the lithium price. Demand can wobble quickly with EV sales and battery inventories, and producers have been cautious about calling the bottom after repeated false starts.
Supply is the other problem. China’s Zijin will start Congo’s first lithium output in June from the disputed Manono deposit and move straight to exports, Reuters reported, quoting Cominiere managing director Alpha Monga Mwidia: “Manono Lithium will produce its first tons in June, and exports will begin immediately after.” Traders are watching whether Manono hits that June start — and whether more conversion capacity follows Kemerton into care and maintenance — as the next test of how tight the lithium market can get in 2026. 5
