Metals & Mining Theme, Non-Ferrous
September 04, 2025
Platts to launch CIF South Korea black mass assessments
Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, will launch weekly CIF South Korea black mass spot price assessments effective Oct. 2, 2025.
These assessments seek 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 Global Trade Analytics Suite.
The new assessments will 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.
Platts will 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 black mass is typically derived from batteries with a nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) 811 chemistry, while mid-nickel black mass is typically from batteries of NMC 532 and 622 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 will reflect the following specifications:
| Assessment | Symbol (Monthly average) | Quality | Volume | Dimensions | Location | Timing | Payment Terms |
| High-nickel Ni-Co Black Mass CIF South Korea Lithium Payable (%) | NBMMA00 (NBMMA03) | Li 3.5%, Co 3%, Ni 24%; Less than 3% combined Cu, Al, Fe | Min 1 container | Powder packed in bags | Busan, South Korea | 15-60 days | TT 30 days |
| High-nickel Ni-Co Black Mass CIF South Korea Nickel Payable (%) | NBMMB00 (NBMMB03) | Li 3.5%, Co 3%, Ni 24%; Less than 3% combined Cu, Al, Fe | Min 1 container | Powder packed in bags | Busan, South Korea | 15-60 days | TT 30days |
| High-nickel Ni-Co Black Mass CIF South Korea Cobalt Payable (%) | NBMMC00 (NBMMC03) | Li 3.5%, Co 3%, Ni 24%; Less than 3% combined Cu, Al, Fe | Min 1 container | Powder packed in bags | Busan, South Korea | 15-60 days | TT 30 days |
| High-nickel Ni-Co Black Mass CIF South Korea Calculated Price ($/mt) | NBMMD00 (NBMMD03) | Li 3.5%, Co 3%, Ni 24%; Less than 3% combined Cu, Al, Fe | Min 1 container | Powder packed in bags | Busan, South Korea | 15-60 days | TT 30 days |
| Mid-nickel Ni-Co Black Mass CIF South Korea Lithium Payable (%) | NBMME00 (NBMME03) | Li 3.5%, Co 6%, Ni 15%; Less than 3% combined Cu, Al, Fe | Min 1 container | Powder packed in bags | Busan, South Korea | 15-60 days | TT 30 days |
| Mid-nickel Ni-Co Black Mass CIF South Korea Nickel Payable (%) | NBMMF00 (NBMMF03) | Li 3.5%, Co 6%, Ni 15%; Less than 3% combined Cu, Al, Fe | Min 1 container | Powder packed in bags | Busan, South Korea | 15-60 days | TT 30 days |
| Mid-nickel Ni-Co Black Mass CIF South Korea Cobalt Payable (%) | NBMMG00 (NBMMG03) | Li 3.5%, Co 6%, Ni 15%; Less than 3% combined Cu, Al, Fe | Min 1 container | Powder packed in bags | Busan, South Korea | 15-60 days | TT 30 days |
| Mid-nickel Ni-Co Black Mass CIF South Korea Calculated Price ($/mt) | NBMMH00 (NBMMH03) | Li 3.5%, Co 6%, Ni 15%; Less than 3% combined Cu, Al, Fe | Min 1 container | Powder packed in bags | Busan, South Korea | 15-60 days | TT 30 days |
| LCO Black Mass CIF South Korea Lithium Payable (%) | LBMMI00 (LBMMI03) | Li 3%, Co 25%; Less than 3% combined Cu, Al, Fe | Min 1 container | Powder packed in bags | Busan, South Korea | 15-60 days | TT 30 days |
| LCO Black Mass CIF South Korea Cobalt Payable (%) | LBMMJ00 (LBMMJ03) | Li 3%, Co 25%; Less than 3% combined Cu, Al, Fe | Min 1 container | Powder packed in bags | Busan, South Korea | 15-60 days | TT 30 days |
| LCO Black Mass CIF South Korea Calculated Price ($/mt) | LBMMK00 (LBMMK03) | Li 3%, Co 25%; Less than 3% combined Cu, Al, Fe | Min 1 container | Powder packed in bags | Busan, South Korea | 15-60 days | TT 30 days |
The basis quality specifications will reflect typical specifications rather than minimum as initially proposed, and Platts may normalize information on cargoes with differing specifications to the stated specifications.
Black mass of all origins meeting these specifications will 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, will 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 (MMAIK00) 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 will be the sum of the following two components:
- Calculated lithium component = LCO 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 = LCO Black Mass CIF South Korea cobalt payable x Platts European Cobalt Metal 99.8% mixed-use basket B (MMAIK00) x cobalt base content
The weekly price assessments will be published every Thursday with a 4:30pm Singapore (0830 GMT) timestamp.
Platts first proposed to launch the assessments Aug. 19 in a subscriber note available here .
The assessments and associated monthly averages will be published in Platts Metals Daily, Platts Nonferrous Metals Alerts, in the Platts Battery Metals Market Report and in the Platts price database.
Please send feedback, comments, and questions to battery_metals@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com.
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