Samsung was the clear winner shipping an estimated 63.7 million smartphones, up 76% year over year, vs. Apple at 47.8 million, up 29%.
The current spot price for battery-grade lithium carbonate is $6,600 a tonne, that’s up from $5,500 a couple of years ago and a projected high of $8,500 by the end of the decade, according to researcher Roskill.