New eastern Tibet discovery bolsters China’s lithium reserves by over one million tonnes

China has greatly increased the amount of lithium deposit present in an already super-large reserve located in the eastern Tibetan city of Barkham (Chinese: Maerkang), in Amdo Ngaba, which is currently part of Sichuan province. The new discovery is expected to help China reduce its dependence on foreign sources for this vital mineral as it pushes to lead the world in the development, use, and export of modern high-tech products.

China has announced the expansion of the resource base for a major lithium deposit in Sichuan province by about 70%, strengthening the country’s potential long-term supply for the metal – an essential component in the production of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage, reported scmp.com Oct 3, citing state news agency XinhuaOct 1.

The report said that after recent detection efforts, the Jiada Lithium Mine had registered about 1.05 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent in the deposit, bringing its total resources to 2.53 million tonnes. The increase has reinforces the mine’s status as a major hard-rock lithium deposit.

Read more