(Yicai) Sept. 10 -- Shares in several Chinese lithium mining companies took a hit today after battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology said it expects to resume production at a major lithium mine in Yichun, eastern Jiangxi province ahead of schedule after a nearly month-long shutdown.

Tianqi Lithium’s share price [SHE:002466] tumbled 5 percent to end the day at CNY43.93 (USD6.17), Qinghai Yanhu Industry [SHE:000792] slumped 3.4 percent to CNY19.99 and Ganfeng Lithium Group [SHE:002460] sank 3.7 percent to CNY47.05. Meanwhile, CATL [SHE:300750] dipped 1.2 percent to finish at CNY316.04 (USD44).

Lithium carbonate futures on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange also experienced a significant drop today. The main contract for lithium carbonate futures [lc2511] tumbled 4.8 percent to close at CNY70,720 (USD9,941) per ton.

CATL's unit Yichun Times New Energy Mining held a special meeting yesterday to push for a quick restart of operations at its Jianxiawo lithium mine, Securities Times reported that day. The mining permit renewal is progressing smoothly and could take less than the three to six months anticipated by the market, the report said.

Jianxiawo is the largest lepidolite mine in the city of Yichun, which is known as China's "Lithium Capital." Yichun Times won the exploration rights to the mine in April 2022 with a bid of CNY865 million (USD121.4 million). However, operations were suspended on Aug. 9 after the mining permit expired. Bloomberg reported at the time that this shutdown would last for at least three months.

As the world's largest supplier of electric car batteries, CATL has been snapping up lithium mining assets in recent years. In 2018, it set up a joint venture called Tyeeli (Yibin) with lithium materials supplier Canmax Technologies to develop domestic lithium resources. The Ningde-based firm also holds stakes in several overseas projects, including the Manono lithium mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as the Uyuni and Oruro lithium salt lakes in Bolivia.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Kim Taylor