Why Lithium Miners Like Albemarle, Lithium Americas, and Galaxy Resources Dropped Like Rocks Today

Shares of lithium miner Albemarle (NYSE: ALB) dropped as much as 11.5% in the first half hour of trading on Sept. 23. Peer Lithium Americas (NYSE: LAC) fell even more, falling by nearly 14% in early trading. And Galaxy Resources (OTC: GALXF) beat them both on the downside, with a 14.5% decline.

There's no question that it was ugly for lithium miners today. Although not all lithium miners declined quite as much, the pain was indeed broad, with both Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile and Livent off in the mid- to high single digits at the start of the trading day on Wall Street. News from a big lithium user is what got investors worried, perhaps justifiably so.

Electric car manufacturer Tesla held its "Battery Day" on Sept. 22. Although the news from the company wasn't as exciting as Tesla investors may have been hoping, there was some important news for any company that mines for lithium. The metal is a key input in batteries for electric vehicles. Although estimates vary, at the start of 2020 Albemarle, one of the world's largest producers of the industrial metal, was projecting that lithium demand from vehicles would expand at an annualized rate of 38% per year between 2019 and 2025.

Source Fool.com