Key points
- China now accounts for 16.5 per cent of lithium
- Previously, China had six per cent of reserves
- It depended on imports of lithium
ISLAMABAD: China has increased its lithium reserves over the past few years, trying to shape itself as one of the world’s second-largest holders of lithium for batteries and renewable energy technologies.
According to the South China Morning Post, the recent findings of massive deposits in Tibet are going to help meet the demand for metal.
“China’s lithium reserves have nearly tripled to make it the world’s second-largest holder of reserves of the key metal for renewable energy technology,” state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday.
“The country now accounts for 16.5 per cent of global reserves, behind only Chile, and has moved ahead of Australia, Argentina, and Bolivia,” according to the China Geological Survey.
New deposits
Previously, China was thought to possess 6 per cent of the world’s total, however, the rise is attributed to the discovery of new deposits accompanied by innovative techniques that allow the metal to be extracted from minerals.
Lithium is an important material in China’s increasing new energy sector and is essential for producing electric vehicle batteries and electronics.
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Beijing is trying hard to look for new sources of lithium reserves as the country is the world’s leading consumer of lithium and needs imports to meet its demand.
“For a long time, the country has had a high dependence on foreign lithium resources, with high volumes of imports. This has driven up production costs and limited the development of related industries,” Xinhua reported.
“The emerging industries that rely on it include energy storage systems, communications, medical treatments, and nuclear reactor fuel,” it added.
