After a brief respite, lithium has regained strength thanks to a country that has tripled its reserves: China

In its quest to become a total leader in the energy sector, China has achieved what no one else has achieved: triple its lithium reserves.

In short. The Geological Survey of China, attached to the Ministry of Natural Resources, has explained that reserves have increased from 6% to 16.5% of the world total, elevating the country from sixth to second place in the global ranking.

Triplicate. For a few years now, the Asian giant has been behind lithium for the production of components related to technology and the energy transition. In this way, it has become the largest consumer of lithium and has produced more than two-thirds of the world’s lithium-ion batteries. Additionally, China has controlled the majority of lithium processing facilities.

However, until now, Australia was the largest supplier of lithium to China, but the discovery of new deposits has turned the situation around.

New deposits. The Asian country has been searching for new discoveries for a couple of years to find lithium for itself in its lands, which are rich in different elements such as coal or rare earths. In that search, which began a long time ago, he found in the western region a spodumene-type lithium belt, which is used for the manufacture of jewelry, ceramics and glass.

Also, they investigated the salt lake area of ​​the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, where they have found the third largest salt lake lithium resource base in the world. Continuing along these lines, he developed a technique to extract lithium from the sea and guarantee its supply.

For their part, Chinese researchers have managed to overcome technical challenges in their lithium journey, such as the extraction of lithium in lepidolite. This mineral contains high amounts of lithium which is very difficult to extract and process.

Australia the largest supplier. Until now the lead is still occupied by Australia, but with this turn of the page the situation could be reversed. China has a great capacity to connect with different markets, being able to reconfigure commercial and geopolitical dynamics worldwide.

Despite topping the list for lithium production, Australia will see its production decline because demand for electric vehicles has stagnated in this current slowing economic climate, causing lithium prices to be much lower.

What are China’s plans? With this twist, the Asian giant’s plans include imposing more restrictions on exports of minerals for batteries and technology, according to Reuters. With this forceful measure, China wants to ensure control of essential resources. All of this will affect the global panorama, where emerging companies will have to depend on China for energy storage, communications, medical treatments and fuel for nuclear reactors, they say from the Xinhua news portal.

Image | China News Service and CMOC

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