Even the mining industry’s super commodity of the future may be unable to avoid the Achilles heel of all mineral producers – a recurring habit of busting a boom with too much supply. As miners of everything from copper to iron ore wrestled with losses driven by global surpluses, prices soared for lithium, the light-weight metal used in rechargeable batteries. It’s easy to see why. Booming demand outpaced production thanks to the faster-than-expected growth in global electric-vehicle sales and the aggressive expansion plans of Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors Inc.
