Reviewed August 2026 against Global X Australia, VanEck Australia, and InvestingNews market data.
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The two lithium ETFs traded on the ASX approach lithium exposure differently: Global X’s ACDC fund tracks battery technology and lithium miners globally for a 0.69% p.a. management fee, while VanEck’s MVR tracks broad Australian resources (not lithium alone) for 0.35% p.a. There is currently no ASX-listed fund that isolates iron ore alone โ MVR is the closest broad-resources proxy, and its top holdings and fee are below. For individual stocks, Patagonia Lithium’s share price gained 103.39% year-to-date as of July 21, 2026, illustrating how sharply single-stock lithium exposure can move against a diversified fund.
Table of Contents
- Lithium ETF List: What’s Actually on the ASX
- Best Lithium ETF ASX: ACDC vs. MVR Compared
- Iron Ore ETF ASX: Why There Isn’t a Pure-Play Fund
- Top Lithium Stocks ASX: Individual Names Worth Watching
- Lithium Battery Stocks ASX: Where Battery Demand Meets Supply
- Lithium Market Context: Production, Price, and Demand
- Comparison Table: ETFs & Stocks Side by Side
- Calculator: Compare ETF Fee Drag Over Time
- Satellite Intelligence for Resource Investors
- How to Verify These Numbers Yourself
- FAQs
- Try it: Run your own numbers
Lithium ETF List: What’s Actually on the ASX
Anyone searching for a lithium ETF list on the ASX will find the pool is smaller than it looks. Only one ASX-listed fund is built specifically around lithium and battery technology: the Global X Battery Tech & Lithium ETF (ASX: ACDC). It holds a global basket of miners, refiners, and battery-materials companies rather than a pure Australian lithium play, and it traded at $131.57 in August 2026 with a management fee of 0.69% p.a., according to Global X’s own fund page.
There is no second dedicated lithium ETF listed on the ASX as of this review. Investors chasing broader resources exposure that happens to include lithium miners typically add the VanEck Australian Resources ETF (ASX: MVR), which held $815.53 million in net assets and traded at a $48.84 net asset value per unit on 11 August 2026, per VanEck’s fund snapshot. MVR charges 0.35% p.a. โ roughly half of ACDC’s fee โ but its portfolio spans iron ore, gold, and energy producers, not lithium specifically.
This is the honest state of the “lithium etf list” query: two funds worth comparing, one lithium-focused and one broad-resources. If a third ASX lithium ETF launches, it will show up on the ASX’s own ETF product list and on Global X’s or VanEck’s fund pages before it shows up anywhere else โ check those directly rather than relying on aggregator blog posts, which lag new listings by weeks.
Best Lithium ETF ASX: ACDC vs. MVR Compared
“Best” depends on what an investor wants exposure to. If the goal is lithium and battery supply chain specifically, ACDC is the only direct option on the ASX โ its 0.69% p.a. fee buys global diversification across the battery value chain rather than concentration in Australian producers alone. Its $131.57 share price in August 2026 sits well above MVR’s $48.84 net asset value on 11 August 2026, but share price alone says nothing about value; what matters is what each fund holds and what it costs to hold it.
MVR’s 0.35% p.a. fee is roughly half of ACDC’s, and its $815.53 million in net assets under management (VanEck, August 2026) signals a fund with more scale and likely tighter bid-ask spreads. The tradeoff is dilution: an investor buying MVR for lithium exposure is also buying iron ore, gold, and other resource names they may not want. A reasonable rule of thumb โ not a recommendation โ is that ACDC suits an investor who wants concentrated, direct exposure to the lithium and battery theme and will tolerate a higher fee for it, while MVR suits an investor who wants lithium exposure blended with the rest of the Australian resources sector at a lower running cost.
- ACDC: 0.69% p.a. fee, $131.57 share price (Aug 2026), global battery-tech and lithium mandate.
- MVR: 0.35% p.a. fee, $48.84 NAV per unit (11 Aug 2026), $815.53M AUM, broad Australian resources mandate.
Neither fund’s holdings list or fee schedule is static โ management fees can change at the provider’s discretion and holdings rebalance regularly. Before acting on the figures above, check Global X’s ACDC fund page and VanEck’s MVR snapshot for the current fee, NAV, and top-ten holdings, both of which are updated by the providers directly.
Iron Ore ETF ASX: Why There Isn’t a Pure-Play Fund
Searches for an “iron ore etf asx” run into a real gap: no ASX-listed ETF isolates iron ore miners alone. The closest available vehicle is the VanEck Australian Resources ETF (ASX: MVR), which blends iron ore producers with gold, energy, and other resource names, charges 0.35% p.a., and held $815.53 million in net assets as of August 2026 (VanEck). Its $48.84 net asset value on 11 August 2026 reflects that broader basket, not an iron ore price alone.
Investors who want iron ore exposure specifically therefore face a choice: hold MVR and accept dilution from non-iron-ore holdings, or buy individual ASX-listed iron ore producers directly and build a concentrated position stock by stock. Current iron ore spot prices in USD or AUD per tonne, and a breakdown of which ASX companies are pure iron ore plays versus diversified miners, are not covered in the research base for this review โ that data changes daily and is best checked directly against a live commodity price feed or the ASX’s own company announcements for the miners in question, rather than repeated from a static article.
This is a case where naming a number we do not have would be worse than naming the gap. If a dedicated ASX iron ore ETF launches, it will appear on VanEck’s, Global X’s, or BetaShares’ fund pages before anywhere else โ that is the first place to check for a genuine pure-play alternative to MVR.
Top Lithium Stocks ASX: Individual Names Worth Watching
Individual lithium stocks on the ASX move on different drivers than the ETFs above โ project-specific news, offtake agreements, and spodumene grade all matter more than they do inside a diversified fund. One concrete data point: Patagonia Lithium’s ASX share price had gained 103.39% year-to-date as of July 21, 2026, according to InvestingNews’ roundup of ASX lithium stocks. That kind of move is the upside case for single-stock exposure โ and its mirror image, a swift reversal when lithium carbonate prices fall, is the downside case.
For a deeper screen of individual names โ resource quality, processing capability, offtake agreements, and balance sheet discipline โ see our dedicated coverage of the best lithium stocks ASX picks, which tracks company-level project data separately from this ETF-focused comparison. A companion piece also profiles individual lithium mining company stocks for investors weighing direct equity positions against fund exposure.
Whichever names an investor screens, the same checklist applies: does the company hold high-grade spodumene resources with a long mine life, does it have integrated processing toward battery-grade hydroxide or carbonate, does it have signed offtake agreements with battery or EV manufacturers, and does its balance sheet have enough cash to survive a multi-year price downturn without diluting shareholders. Lithium carbonate spot prices are volatile enough that a company’s cost per tonne relative to the current spot price matters more than its share price momentum alone.
Lithium Battery Stocks ASX: Where Battery Demand Meets Supply
“Lithium battery stocks” is a slightly different query from “lithium stocks” โ it points at companies exposed to the battery value chain broadly, not just spodumene miners. On the ASX, that overlaps heavily with the same names covered above, plus the ACDC ETF, which is explicitly mandated around battery technology and lithium rather than mining alone. Global lithium battery market value reached $150 billion in 2025, according to IndexBox’s analysis of the sector, which gives a sense of the scale of demand these companies are competing to supply.
Global lithium mine production reached 290,000 tonnes in 2025, per the same IndexBox report โ a figure that matters to battery stocks because it sets the ceiling on raw material available to refiners and cell manufacturers. When production growth outpaces battery demand growth, spot prices fall and margin pressure moves downstream to refiners and battery makers; when it lags, the reverse happens. Battery-grade lithium carbonate spot prices were $26,278 per tonne in Q1 2026, but had fallen to $21,760 per tonne in Northeast Asia by July 2026, according to InvestingNews’ lithium price tracking โ an 17.2% drop in roughly two quarters that shows how quickly the supply-demand balance can shift margins for anyone in this value chain.
For an investor screening lithium battery stocks specifically, the practical takeaway is to check whether a company’s revenue is contracted at fixed offtake prices or exposed to spot pricing โ the swing above is large enough to change a marginal producer’s profitability within two quarters.
Lithium Market Context: Production, Price, and Demand
Three figures anchor the current lithium market for ASX-focused investors. Global mine production hit 290,000 tonnes in 2025 (IndexBox). The battery market those tonnes feed was valued at $150 billion in 2025 (IndexBox). And battery-grade lithium carbonate spot pricing has been on a clear downward path within 2026 โ from $26,278 per tonne in Q1 to $21,760 per tonne by July, in Northeast Asia specifically (InvestingNews).
That price decline matters more to ASX lithium stocks than to the ETFs, because individual miners’ margins compress or expand directly with spot price while a diversified ETF’s price reflects the blended performance of dozens of holdings, some hedged by offtake contracts and some not. An investor comparing a lithium stock’s quoted “cost of production per tonne” against the current spot price gets a fast read on whether that company is still profitable at today’s pricing โ a company producing at $18,000 per tonne cash cost is still comfortably profitable at $21,760 spot; one producing at $24,000 per tonne is not.
Lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide are priced and traded somewhat differently, and the research available for this review does not separate the two cleanly โ treat any single “lithium price” figure as referring to carbonate unless a source states otherwise, and check InvestingNews’ daily lithium market updates (linked in the verification section below) for the current hydroxide premium or discount if that distinction matters to a specific stock.
Comparison Table: ETFs & Stocks Side by Side
The table below puts the two ASX-relevant ETFs and the one stock-level data point from this review side by side. Figures for individual lithium stocks beyond Patagonia Lithium’s YTD move were not part of the verified research base for this piece โ see the linked stock-picking guides above for company-level screens.
| Vehicle | Type | Mandate | Fee / Fee Class | Price / NAV | Scale | Source Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Global X ACDC | ETF | Global battery tech & lithium | 0.69% p.a. | $131.57 share price | Not disclosed in brief | August 2026 |
| VanEck MVR | ETF | Broad Australian resources (incl. iron ore, gold) | 0.35% p.a. | $48.84 NAV/unit | $815.53M net assets | 11 August 2026 |
| Patagonia Lithium | Individual stock | Lithium exploration/production | N/A | +103.39% YTD share price move | Not disclosed in brief | 21 July 2026 |
How to Read This Table
- โ Fee difference: ACDC’s 0.69% p.a. fee is roughly double MVR’s 0.35% p.a. โ over a 10-year hold, that gap compounds; see the calculator below.
- โ Mandate difference: ACDC is lithium-and-battery-specific; MVR is broad resources and only partially overlaps with lithium.
- โ Data gaps: Neither fund’s exact lithium-sector weighting nor current top-ten holdings list was in the verified research base โ pull those directly from each provider’s fund page before allocating.
Calculator: Compare ETF Fee Drag Over Time
Enter an investment amount and holding period to see how ACDC’s 0.69% p.a. fee and MVR’s 0.35% p.a. fee compound differently over time, using each fund’s currently published fee.
Run your own numbers
Assumes fees are charged annually on the closing balance and returns compound before fees are deducted; it excludes brokerage, buy-sell spreads, taxes, and any performance fees. This is a simplified illustration, not a return forecast โ actual fund performance depends on the underlying holdings, not the assumed return entered here.
Satellite Intelligence for Resource Investors
None of the fee or price data above tells an investor whether a lithium miner’s resource is actually as large or as high-grade as its exploration reports claim, or whether a new deposit exists in ground nobody has drilled yet. That is a separate due-diligence layer, and it is where Farmonaut’s satellite-based mineral detection tools sit: multispectral and hyperspectral satellite analysis that screens large regions for lithium, iron, and other target minerals without a ground crew.
- โ Faster screening: satellite mineral targeting narrows a region down to priority zones in days rather than the months a ground survey campaign takes.
- โ Lower cost: satellite-based screening runs at a fraction of the cost of a comparable ground-based exploration survey.
- โ Non-invasive: no ground disturbance at the earliest screening stage, which matters for permitting timelines.
- โ Multi-mineral: the same dataset can screen for lithium, iron, rare earths, and other targets in one pass.
For deeper 3D prospectivity mapping, see the satellite-driven 3D mineral prospectivity mapping solution. Investors and exploration teams evaluating a specific project area can map it directly at mining.farmonaut.com โ ๐ Map Your Mining Site Here.
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How to Verify These Numbers Yourself
Every figure in this article carries a date because every one of them will move. Here is exactly where to re-check each before acting on it:
- Lithium carbonate spot price: check InvestingNews’ daily lithium market coverage or a commodity pricing terminal such as Intratec’s lithium page โ both update more frequently than any static article can.
- ACDC price, fee, and holdings: Global X’s own ACDC fund page updates NAV daily and discloses the current fee and top holdings.
- MVR NAV, fee, and AUM: VanEck’s MVR snapshot page updates net asset value daily and net assets under management monthly.
- Individual stock performance such as Patagonia Lithium’s share price move: check the ASX’s own quote page or a live market data provider, since YTD figures reset every January.
This checklist is the durable part of this article. The specific numbers above will be stale within months; the method for finding their replacements will not be.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the best lithium ETF on the ASX?
The only ASX-listed ETF built specifically around lithium and battery technology is Global X’s ACDC, charging 0.69% p.a. and trading at $131.57 in August 2026. VanEck’s MVR, at 0.35% p.a. and $48.84 NAV per unit on 11 August 2026, offers partial lithium exposure blended with broader Australian resources at a lower fee. Which is “best” depends on whether an investor wants concentrated lithium exposure or diversified resources exposure at lower cost.
Is there a lithium ETF list beyond ACDC and MVR?
As of this review, ACDC is the only dedicated lithium and battery-tech ETF on the ASX, and MVR is the closest broad-resources alternative with partial lithium exposure. Check the ASX’s own ETF product list, or the fund pages of Global X, VanEck, and BetaShares directly, for any new lithium fund launches.
Is there an iron ore ETF on the ASX?
No ASX-listed ETF isolates iron ore miners alone as of this review. VanEck’s MVR (0.35% p.a., $815.53 million in net assets as of August 2026) is the closest broad-resources fund with meaningful iron ore exposure, blended with gold and other resource holdings. Investors wanting pure iron ore exposure need to buy individual ASX-listed producers directly.
What are the top lithium stocks on the ASX right now?
Patagonia Lithium’s share price had gained 103.39% year-to-date as of July 21, 2026, per InvestingNews โ one concrete data point on how sharply individual lithium names can move. For a fuller company-level screen covering resource quality, offtake agreements, and balance sheet strength, see our best lithium stocks ASX guide and our lithium mining company stocks profile.
How big is the global lithium market, and does that affect ASX stocks?
Global lithium mine production reached 290,000 tonnes in 2025, feeding a battery market valued at $150 billion the same year (both IndexBox). ASX-listed lithium producers compete directly for a share of that production volume and market value, which is why global supply growth and battery demand growth โ not just Australian-specific news โ move ASX lithium share prices.
How does Farmonaut’s satellite mineral intelligence support lithium investors?
Farmonaut’s multispectral and hyperspectral satellite analysis screens large regions for lithium and other target minerals without ground crews, cutting exploration screening time from months to days. Investors and exploration teams can map a specific project area at mining.farmonaut.com or learn more on the mineral detection page.
For further insights or a custom mineral intelligence report, Contact Us or Get a Quote directly.

