Recycling of charge material for an NMC (Ni, Mn, Co) battery recovers lithium from a recycled battery stream by roasting a black mass from the recycled stream in a partial oxygen environment at a temperature based on the thermal reduction of cathode material and reacting carbon in an anode material with lithium in the cathode material, and then leaching the lithium from the roasted black mass for forming a lithium leach solution. Lithium is recovered by heating the lithium leach solution, precipitating the lithium carbonate based on decreased solubility of the leached lithium carbonate at the increased temperature.