Benchmark Minerals responds to LME’s price provider decision

Following the London Metal Exchange’s (LME) decision to select Fastmarkets as price provider for its planned lithium futures contract earlier this week, mining consultancy firm Benchmark Minerals, which specializes in lithium-ion raw materials, released a statement reiterating its role in the lithium price assessment space.

Benchmark added that while it respects the LME’s decision, it “wholly disagrees” with the exchange.

“When the LME first began looking at lithium, the first organisation they called was us. As a result, we have been part of their lithium process well before other price reporting agencies (PRA) either launched lithium price coverage or ramped up existing neglected prices – many of which were given away for free to the market,” Simon Moores, Managing Director, Benchmark Minerals said.

The firm will continue to serve the lithium industry and formalize reference prices used for supply chain contracts, Moores added. He also said that Benchmark recently appointed hires from Tesla, SQM and Albemarle, emphasizing the firm’s growth and expertise.