Are these the best ASX lithium stocks to watch in 2023?
With the rise of electric vehicles, demand for lithium has skyrocketed. So here we've compiled a list of 10 of the biggest ASX lithium shares to take advantage of the potential in Australia's lithium mining market..
Investing in lithium companies on the ASX
As traditional combustion engine cars are replaced by electric vehicles, the demand for lithium explodes worldwide.
In 2022 alone, lithium prices soared over +124%, with Australia holding the lion’s share of the metal’s production. While the commodity's prices have dropped by over 60% since 2023, lithium demand is still expected to be high in the next few years.
ASX lithium mining stocks might be worth considering if you’re looking to invest in the rise of electric vehicles using lithium-ion batteries. If you are interested in investing in Australian shares on the ASX, check out the list below of frequently traded lithium shares on the Stake platform.
Are these the best lithium stocks on the ASX?
Company Name | Ticker | Stock Price | Year to Date | Market Capitalisation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
$113.68 | -1.52% | $42.35b | ||
$68.82 | -8.37% | $13.43b | ||
$4.42 | +21.82% | $13.26b | ||
$12.72 | +15.26% | $8.13b | ||
$3.04 | +146.75% | $6.67b | ||
$1.31 | -3.19% | $2.04b | ||
$0.10 | -47.37% | $1.03b | ||
$0.31 | 212.00% | $828m | ||
$0.39 | -61.68% | $812m | ||
$0.18 | -76.97% | $242m |
Data as of 13 September 2023. Sources: Stake, Google Finance.
*The list of stocks mentioned is ranked by market cap. When deciding what stocks to feature, we analyse the financials, recent news, the state of the industry, and whether or not they are actively traded on Stake.
Discover our list of the top 10 ASX lithium companies
1. Rio Tinto Limited ($RIO)
Market Capitalisation: $42.35b
Stock price (as of 13/09/2023): $113.68
Stake Platform Bought / Sold (1 Jan 2023 - 13 September 2023): 62% / 38%
The second-biggest mining company in the world, Rio Tinto has lithium mining facilities both in California and Serbia, which is expected be able to produce over 63,000 tons of lithium every year. Despite lithium not being one of the company’s core products, RIO might be a good call for those who want to get some exposure to the metal, while also gaining exposure to other minerals.
2. Mineral Resources Limited ($MIN)
Market Capitalisation: $13.43b
Stock price (as of 13/09/2023): $68.82
Stake Platform Bought / Sold (1 Jan 2023 - 13 September 2023): 62% / 38%
With two hard rock lithium mines located in Western Australia, Mineral Resources ($MIN) is one of the world’s largest holders of hard rock lithium reserves. By the end of 2022, their two mines combined are expected to be able to produce over 1.5m tonnes for their lithium projects. Even though lithium makes up for a big share of the company’s revenue, Mineral Resources also produces iron ore, natural gas and has a corporate shared mining service, allowing it to have some B2B customers.
3. Pilbara Minerals Limited ($PLS)
Market Capitalisation: $13.26b
Stock price (as of 13/09/2023): $4.42
Stake Platform Bought / Sold (1 Jan 2023 - 13 September 2023): 62% / 38%
Australia’s biggest lithium miner, Pilbara Minerals owns the Pilgangoora Project in Western Australia, which has an estimated mine life of 26 years and a maximum production capacity of 580,000 tonnes per annum. Being a globally significant lithium producer, the rise of this commodity has sent the PLS share price upwards, soaring 30.6% in the last 12 months.
4. Allkem Limited ($AKE)
Market Capitalisation: $8.13b
Stock price (as of 13/09/2023): $12.72
Stake Platform Bought / Sold (1 Jan 2023 - 13 September 2023): 57% / 43%
The biggest lithium pure-play company in the ASX, Allkem delivers end-to-end solutions for all lithium needs. The company has a hard-rock lithium operation in Canada and Australia, a lithium brine project in Argentina and a lithium hydroxide conversion facility in Japan, holding more than 10% of the world’s lithium production. With record revenues and net profits climbing 13-fold from FY2021 to FY2022, investors have also taken note, with AKE's share price advancing over 150% from 2021 to present.
5. Liontown Resources Limited ($LTR)
Market Capitalisation: $6.67b
Stock price (as of 13/09/2023): $3.04
Stake Platform Bought / Sold (1 Jan 2023 - 13 September 2023): 58% / 42%
Still preoperational, Liontown Resources holds two lithium reserves in Western Australia, in the Kathleen Valley and Buldania. By 2024, the company expects to be able to produce over 500,000 tons of lithium per year, just in time for what Liontown forecasts will be when the lithium deficit worldwide will be hitting new highs. Since it’s still preoperational and thus considered somewhat risky by investors, the LTR stock price is up only a meager +5.00% in 2022, despite the lithium market rallying during the year.
6. De Grey Mining Limited ($DEG)
Market Capitalisation: $2.04b
Stock price (as of 13/09/2023): $1.31
Stake Platform Bought / Sold (1 Jan 2023 - 13 September 2023): 59% / 41%
Another lithium and gold mining company, De Grey is another pre-operational mining company, holding reserves in West Australia. Once live, their mines is expected to produce over 15 tons of gold yearly. Despite being focused on gold production, the company has also confirmed through some drilling tests that its reserves also hold substantial quantities of high-grade lithium.
Being more exposed to gold prices than lithium prices, De Grey Mining shares have grown strongly at almost 20% YTD, compared to the other lithium miners on this list. De Grey is featured among our top 10 list of ASX gold stocks.
7. Sayona Mining Limited ($SYA)
Market Capitalisation: $1.03b
Stock price (as of 13/09/2023): $0.10
Stake Platform Bought / Sold (1 Jan 2023 - 13 September 2023): 64% / 36%
With mining facilities in Quebec and in Western Australia, Sayona Mining aims to become one of the leading players in the North American lithium market, as it now holds the region’s biggest lithium reserves. In Australia, its mining sites go beyond mining just lithium deposits, focusing also on gold production. Its yearly lithium production is over 160,000 tons, which helped Sayona’s stock price climb over 2000% in the last two years.
🆚 Compare SYA vs CXO→
8. Latin Resources Limited ($LRS)
Market Capitalisation: $828m
Stock price (as of 13/09/2023): $0.31
Stake Platform Bought / Sold (1 Jan 2023 - 13 September 2023): 51% / 49%
Latin Resources is an Australian-based mineral exploration company, with a focus on developing mineral projects in commodities that help global efforts towards Net Zero emissions. Its flagship project is located in Brazil, with the Salinas Lithium Project covering 38,000 hectares. LRS has some other ongoing projects and interests in copper and gold exploration. Another to note is their Catamarca Project in Argentina, totalling over 70,000 hectares and is the largest hard rock spodumene landing in the country.
9. Core Lithium Ltd ($CXO)
Market Capitalisation: $812m
Stock price (as of 13/09/2023): $0.39
Stake Platform Bought / Sold (1 Jan 2023 - 13 September 2023): 64% / 36%
This year’s biggest gainer in the lithium industry, Core Lithium strives to become one of Australia’s leading lithium producers through its Finniss project in the Northern Territory. While still pre-operational before 2023, the company's management aims to begin production by this year – expecting to produce over 15 million tonnes of lithium. Don’t be fooled by the company’s name though: Core Lithium is not just a lithium company but also has stakes in other rare earths such as uranium, with one mine in South Australia and another one in the Northern Territory. After a strong rally since 2021, CXO share price has been down 38% in the last 12 months.
💡Related: ASX Uranium Stocks: Top Uranium Shares to Watch→
10. Lake Resources NL ($LKE)
Market Capitalisation: $242m
Stock price (as of 13/09/2023): $0.18
Stake Platform Bought / Sold (1 Jan 2023 - 13 September 2023): 62% / 38%
Similar to the previous two, Lake Resources is another pre-operational lithium mining company. Its mining facilities are located in the lithium triangle in South America, where 40% of the global lithium production is made and production tends to be cheaper than anywhere else in the world. All of their assets are located within Argentinian boundaries and are estimated to contain over 4.4Mt of high quality lithium. The company also strives to be one of the cleanest mining companies in the planet, trying to work according to ESG standards.
Lake Resources has garnered much attention recently after finally producing lithium carbonate through sustainable methods – a feat that they claim they are the first to do. Despite that however, LKE's share price has been severely battered in the past year, down over 76%.
🆚 Compare CXO vs LKE→
How to invest in lithium in Australia?
The main way of investing in lithium is through lithium companies listed in Australia, using an online investment platform.
1. Open a stock investing account
To invest in lithium stocks and ETFs, you'll need to sign up to an investing platform with access to the ASX and Cboe Australia. Lucky for you Stake has access to both stock exchanges.
2. Fund your account
Complete an application with your personal and financial details. Fund your account with a bank transfer, debit card or even Apple/Google Pay.
3. Search for lithium shares or ETFs
Find the asset by searching for the name or ticker symbol. Do your own research to ensure it is the right investment product for your own circumstances.
4. Choose an order type and buy the asset
Buy on any trading day with a market, limit or stop order. Look into dollar cost averaging to spread out your risk, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals.
5. Monitor your investment
Optimise your portfolio by tracking how the security performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights that affect your shares.
Looking to invest in lithium stocks?
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What is the lithium forecast for Australia?
Australia is one of four countries that hold 76% of the world's reserves of lithium (also among the highest grades globally). In 2022, Australia accounted for 43% of global lithium extraction, but only just started looking into the process of refining lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate.
If Australia is to extend its focus into refining, there is an opportunity to help national income and employment, as well as new revenue and margins. Lithium mining and producing companies will be beneficiaries of this.
With the forecast of global lithium demand rising 20% annually to 3.06 million metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) by 2023, the outlook is promising. The Australian lithium sector will need to prepare for the global needs of lithium extraction and refining to produce lithium hydroxide.
Source: McKinsey & Company
More resources:
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✅ 10 Copper stocks to watch in 2023→
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Lithium stocks FAQs
Pilbara Minerals ($PLS) is by far the biggest lithium mining company in Australia. Owning the world’s largest hard-rock lithium operations, Pilbara produces over 377,000 metric tons of lithium every year.
If you are interested in Pilbara Minerals and the lithium industry, compare the stock against some other players in the sector including PLS vs CXO and PLS vs MIN.
As demand for batteries continues to rise worldwide, lithium prices are expected to follow along. However, investors should keep in mind that like any other metal, new reserves can be discovered and explored, potentially making the commodity’s price collapse.
Despite being a growing market with plenty of lithium stock to choose from, there aren’t many lithium ETFs available yet. If looking for a fund, investors can only opt for the Global X Battery Tech & Lithium ETF ($ACDC). Find out more about other Australian ETFs.
This does not constitute financial product advice nor a recommendation to invest, it is for informational purposes only. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. As always, do your own research and consider seeking appropriate financial or taxation advice from a licensed adviser before investing.
Megan is a markets analyst at Stake, with 7 years of experience in the world of investing and a Master’s degree in Business and Economics from The University of Sydney Business School. Megan has extensive knowledge of the UK markets, working as an analyst at ARCH Emerging Markets - a UK investment advisory platform focused on private equity. Previously she also worked as an analyst at Australian robo advisor Stockspot, where she researched ASX listed equities and helped construct the company's portfolios.
