Ganfeng Lithium was founded in 2000[5][2] by Li Liangbin (李良彬) and Li Huabiao (李华彪) in Xinyu City, Jiangxi.[6] In 2003, the company built a lithium production base.[5] The company's leaders, Li Liangbin and Wang Xiaoshen (王晓申), are both of poor, rural origins.[2]
The company started out in chemical processing, but it has expanded its scope by developing mines internationally.[2] In 2017 it began producing batteries for the growing electric vehicle industry. Wang said Ganfeng's battery production would benefit from an economy of scope: "We are the leading supplier of lithium chemicals which will benefit our battery plant."[7]
Products and activities
Described as a "lithium supermarket", Ganfeng sells a wide variety of lithium and related products, including lithium salts, other metals, and batteries.[8][1][9] Its lithium salt production capacity was estimated at 120,000 tons per year as of 2021.[9] As of 2019, it is the largest pure lithium producer in the world.[10] As of 2022, it is also the largest lithium salt producer in China and the third largest in the world,[3] as well as the second largest lithium processor in the world (after the Chilean Sociedad Química y Minera).[2] In 2020, Ganfeng produced an estimated 24% of the world's lithium hydroxide.[8] It sells products to clients including Tesla, BMW, and LG Chem.[9][11]
Ganfeng invests in lithium projects overseas[2] and says its "strategy is to secure long-term competitive resources".[7] It owns three lithium brine projects in Argentina[4] and was the largest shareholder of Lithium Americas in 2021.[12] In 2014, Ganfeng invested in the Mariana lithium-potassium brine project in Argentina.[5] In 2015, the company invested in the Australian company Reed Industrial Minerals, gaining rights to its Mount Marion spodumene project.[5] In 2021, it acquired a 50% ownership stake in the Goulamina mine, a lithium mine in Mali's Ségou Region.[13][14][15][16] The company also has investments and contracts in China,[15] Ireland,[15] Mexico,[15][2] and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[15]
This international scope makes Ganfeng vulnerable to geopolitical tension.[2] Its former supplier Joe Lowry said that the company would be "treading a fine line" between international pressures; Ganfeng risks being affected by US government actions targeting Chinese companies or by Chinese government intervention in the electric vehicle industry.[2] Governments in Latin America have also taken steps that may limit Ganfeng's opportunities there; for instance, Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador has worked to nationalize the country's lithium.[8][17]
On 10 August 2010, the company had an IPO on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. It issued 25 million new shares at a price of 20.7 RMB each, raising 517.5 million RMB.[18][6]
On 11 October 2018, it had an IPO on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at a list price range of 16.50–26.50 HKD. The company issued 200,185,800 H shares, raising 3.171 billion HKD, which it used to expand its lithium-related activities. China Structural Reform Fund, LG, Samsung, Dongfeng Motor Corporation, FAW Group, and GoldenSand Capital were the six cornerstone investors.[19][20][21][22]
