Bolivia has the highest identified lithium resources in the world with 20 million tonnes, as per the US Geological Survey data.
Lithium is currently produced from hard rock or brine mines. Australia is the world's biggest supplier, with production from hard rock mines.
Australia is the world's largest lithium producer, accounting for nearly half of global production in 2021. Bolivia, Chile and Argentina (the “lithium triangle”) have the largest estimated resources, with nearly 50 million tonnes of lithium between the three countries.
“Portugal has the largest lithium reserve in Europe and the eighth largest in the world with over 60,000 tonnes of reserves. It represents a great potential to collaborate with South Korea.
Tesla officially broke ground Monday on a Texas lithium refinery, making it the only U.S. automaker to refine its own lithium. CEO Elon Musk said the refinery will produce enough battery-grade lithium for 1 million electric vehicles by 2025, which would make Tesla the largest processor of lithium in North America.
Traders first purchase the mined cobalt from small producers, then sell it to Congo Dongfang Mining, which is a subsidiary of Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Ltd, a Chinese mineral retailer. Battery manufacturers are next to acquire the cobalt, using it to produce the lithium-ion batteries found in smartphones like the iPhone.
The process of extracting lithium consumes significant amounts of water and energy, and lithium mining can pollute the air and water with chemicals and heavy metals. In addition, mining lithium can disrupt wildlife habitats and cause soil erosion, leading to long-term ecological damage.
Lithium is not mined in Russia, so self-sufficiency in this metal is a problem, dealing with which is high on the agenda. High demand for lithium is a global trend driven by the rapid development of electric vehicles, primarily in China.
Before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Ukraine, home to approximately 500,000 tons of high-quality lithium and vast quantities of rare earth elements, was poised to be a key player in the global transition to green technology.
In Europe, lithium hard-rock mineral deposits are located in Portugal, Czechia, Finland, Germany, Spain and Austria. Significant brine resources also exist in Germany.
The bottom line. While the question of the supply of lithium for EV batteries is a valid one to raise, the abundant supply of lithium means it is unlikely that the world will ever run out of this vital resource.
China's position in downstream supply chains for the battery metal is even more dominant. The country only mines 13% of the world's lithium but controls 44% of global lithium chemical production, 78% of cathode production and 70% of cell manufacturing for the electric car industry, news agencies reported.
Afghanistan reportedly sits on an estimated $1 trillion worth of rare earth minerals, including huge deposits of lithium. The Islamist rulers have banned the extraction and sale of lithium since reclaiming power in Afghanistan in August 2021 after the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.
China's the largest consumer of lithium because of its booming electronics and electric vehicle industries.
The Upper Rhine Valley in Germany's southwest is thought to be home to one of the largest lithium reserves in Europe. That's potentially a huge boon for the country's green transition, as it looks to diversify its supply of the materials needed to build green technologies like electric cars and wind turbines.
Ukraine has extremely rich and complementary mineral resources in high concentrations and close proximity to each other. The country has abundant reserves of coal, iron ore, natural gas, manganese, salt, oil, graphite, sulfur, kaolin, titanium, nickel, magnesium, timber, and mercury.
Agricultural products are Ukraine's most important exports. In 2021 they totaled $27.8 billion, accounting for 41 percent of the country's $68 billion in overall exports. Ukraine is normally the world's top producer of sunflower meal, oil, and seed and the world's top exporter of sunflower meal and oil.
The global lithium resources are rich, but the distribution is not balanced, as nearly 98.43% of lithium mines are concentrated in Bolivia, Chile, Australia, Argentina, the United States and China. According to USGS2, the currently identified lithium resources are 89 million tons.
Kolmozerskoye, discovered in 1947, is Russia's most promising lithium deposit and includes minerals such as lithium, beryllium, niobium and tantalum. Norilsk Technical Services and Rusburmash, Rosatom's exploration and drilling company, will begin additional exploration in the coming months.
Earth has approximately 88 million tonnes of lithium, but only one-quarter is economically viable to mine as reserves.
Lithium mining does have an environmental impact, but it is no worse than oil drilling. This is especially true when you consider the carbon emissions produced from petroleum products during their usage, as compared to lithium-ion batteries that have little to no GHG emissions during their use.
Lithium toxicity signs are obvious and can be identified and managed easily; however, ignoring it can be fatal. Indeed, in some cases, lithium toxicity can lead to coma, brain damage, or even death. Moreover, lithium can induce serotonin syndrome, a potentially fatal and life-threatening condition[31].
A typical EV battery has about 8 kilograms of lithium, 14 kilograms of cobalt, and 20 kilograms of manganese, although this can often be much more depending on the battery size – a Tesla Model S' battery, for example, contains around 62.6 kg (138 pounds) of lithium.