Metals & Mining Theme, Non-Ferrous

August 19, 2025

Platts proposes to launch CIF South Korea black mass assessments

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, proposes to launch weekly CIF South Korea black mass spot price assessments effective Oct. 2, 2025.

The proposal seeks to bring greater pricing transparency to a market where black mass recycling capacity has been growing. South Korea has become a key buyer of black mass, importing an average of 2,116 mt/month in the first half of 2025, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence Trade Analytics Suite .

The proposed new assessments would complement Platts' existing black mass assessments in China, Europe, and the US, and further expand Platts coverage of the global recycling supply chain for battery raw materials.

Based on preliminary market survey, Platts is proposing to launch assessments for two categories of nickel-cobalt (Ni-Co) black mass – high-nickel and medium-nickel – alongside lithium-cobalt-oxide (LCO) assessments. High-nickel typically reflects black mass derived from nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) 811 battery chemistry, while mid-nickel typically reflects black mass from NMC 532 and 622 battery chemistries. Market research has shown that South Korea's black mass demand is predominantly for nickel-cobalt containing batteries from both battery production scrap and end-of-life lithium-ion batteries, followed by LCO batteries.

The new assessments would reflect the following specifications:

AssessmentTypeQualityVolumeDimensionsIncotermLocationTimingPayment TermsUoM
High-nickel Ni-Co Black Mass CIF South Korea Lithium PayableAssessmentMin Li 3.5%, Co 3%, Ni 24%; Less than 3% combined Cu, Al, FeMin 1 containerPowder packed in bagsCIFBusan, South Korea15-60 daysTT 30 days%

High-nickel Ni-Co Black Mass CIF South Korea Cobalt Payable

AssessmentMin Li 3.5%, Co 3%, Ni 24%; Less than 3% combined Cu, Al, FeMin 1 containerPowder packed in bagsCIFBusan, South Korea15-60 daysTT 30days%

High-nickel Ni-Co Black Mass CIF South Korea Nickel Payable

AssessmentMin Li 3.5%, Co 3%, Ni 24%; Less than 3% combined Cu, Al, FeMin 1 containerPowder packed in bagsCIFBusan, South Korea15-60 daysTT 30 days%
High-nickel Ni-Co Black Mass CIF South Korea Calculated PriceCalculationMin Li 3.5%, Co 3%, Ni 24%; Less than 3% combined Cu, Al, FeMin 1 containerPowder packed in bagsCIFBusan, South Korea15-60 daysTT 30 days$/mt
Mid-nickel Ni-Co Black Mass CIF South Korea Lithium PayableAssessmentMin Li 3.5%, Co 6%, Ni 15%; Less than 3% combined Cu, Al, FeMin 1 containerPowder packed in bagsCIFBusan, South Korea15-60 daysTT 30 days%
Mid-nickel Ni-Co Black Mass CIF South Korea Cobalt PayableAssessmentMin Li 3.5%, Co 6%, Ni 15%; Less than 3% combined Cu, Al, FeMin 1 containerPowder packed in bagsCIFBusan, South Korea15-60 daysTT 30 days%
Mid-nickel Ni-Co Black Mass CIF South Korea Nickel PayableAssessmentMin Li 3.5%, Co 6%, Ni 15%; Less than 3% combined Cu, Al, FeMin 1 containerPowder packed in bagsCIFBusan, South Korea15-60 daysTT 30 days%
Mid-nickel Ni-Co Black Mass CIF South Korea Calculated PriceCalculationMin Li 3.5%, Co 6%, Ni 15%; Less than 3% combined Cu, Al, FeMin 1 containerPowder packed in bagsCIFBusan, South Korea15-60 daysTT 30 days$/mt
LCO Black Mass CIF South Korea Lithium PayableAssessmentMin Li 3%, Co 25%; Less than 3% combined Cu, Al, FeMin 1 containerPowder packed in bagsCIFBusan, South Korea15-60 daysTT 30 days%
LCO Black Mass CIF South Korea Cobalt PayableAssessmentMin Li 3%, Co 25%; Less than 3% combined Cu, Al, FeMin 1 containerPowder packed in bagsCIFBusan, South Korea15-60 daysTT 30 days%
LCO Black Mass CIF South Korea Calculated PriceCalculationMin Li 3%, Co 25%; Less than 3% combined Cu, Al, FeMin 1 containerPowder packed in bagsCIFBusan, South Korea15-60 daysTT 30 days$/mt

All origins of black mass meeting these specifications would be considered, and other grades may be normalized back to Platts basis specifications.

The calculated price for Ni-Co black mass CIF South Korea, applicable to both high- and mid-nickel black mass, would be the sum of the following three components:

  • Calculated lithium component = Ni-Co black mass CIF South Korea lithium payable x Platts Lithium Carbonate CIF North Asia (BATLC04)/ lithium metal conversion factor x lithium base content
  • Calculated cobalt component = Ni-Co black mass CIF South Korea cobalt payable x Platts European Cobalt Metal 99.8% mixed-use basket B (MMAKI00) x cobalt base content
  • Calculated nickel component = Ni-Co black mass CIF South Korea nickel payable x LME Nickel official cash monthly average (M-1; LMABF02) x nickel base content

The conversion factor from lithium carbonate to lithium metal is 0.19.

The calculated price for LCO black mass CIF South Korea would be the sum of the following two components:

  • Calculated lithium component = Ni-Co black mass CIF South Korea lithium payable x Platts Lithium Carbonate CIF North Asia (BATLC04)/ lithium metal conversion factor x lithium base content
  • Calculated cobalt component = Ni-Co black mass CIF South Korea cobalt payable x Platts European Cobalt Metal 99.8% mixed-use basket B (MMAKI00) x cobalt base content

Platts is also inviting feedback on the minimum metal content requirement per container of NMC black mass, and typical payment terms.

The weekly price assessments would be published every Thursday with a 4:30pm Singapore (0830 GMT) timestamp.

The assessments and associated monthly averages would be published in Platts Metals Daily, Platts Nonferrous Metals Alerts, in the Platts Battery Metals Market Report and in the Platts price database.

Platts invites feedback, comments and questions on this proposal to battery_metals@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com by Sept. 1, 2025.

For written comments, please provide a clear indication if comments are not intended for publication by Platts for public viewing. Platts will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.