China has abundant lithium resources, including both lithium ore and salt lake. Among them, Sichuan Province champions by resource reserves, accounting for 57% of the total national reserves. As of July 2022, Sichuan has obtained the mining rights for lithium ore reserves of 158 million tonnes, which solidifies the ground for industrial development thanks to its palpable resource advantages.
Sichuan has excellent lithium resources endowment. The spodumene deposits in Sichuan are highly concentrated with high ore grades at an average of about 1.30%-1.42%, which is comparable to those in Australia, the world's most important lithium resource supplier. Meanwhile, there are also multiple valuable components in association or symbiosis that can be comprehensively utilized.
In Sichuan, there are only two major spodumene mines currently in production, namely the Jiajika Spodumene Mine in Kangding City and the Yelonggou Spodumene Mine in Jinchuan County. The Jiajika Mine has proven lithium oxide reserves of 920,000 t, making it the largest lithium resource base in China. The Yelonggou Mine has a capacity of 405,000 t per year, based on the lithium oxide resources of 111,500 t.
Apart from these two mines, the Lijiagou Spodumene Mine in Jinchuan County is currently under construction with a planned capacity of 105 t per year and is expected to start commissioning in 2023. The remaining lithium mines in Sichuan are far from material development.
On the policy front, the Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture government released the Environmental Impact Assessment of Lithium Industry Development in Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan Province (2019-2025) in November 2020, which designated the Dajiajika Mining Park as the core mining area for lithium resources, and the Ganmei Industrial Park and Chenggan Industrial Park as the main areas for deep processing of lithium resources. On February 8, 2023, the Sichuan provincial government introduced the Overall Plan for Mineral Resources Development (2021-2025), according to which the annual output of lithium ore in Sichuan shall reach 1 million t by 2025, a 50% increase from 2020; and by 2035, a lithium mining industry cluster will be formed in the western part of Sichuan.
Sichuan is now on course to better position itself as a resource power by accelerating the construction of a sophisticated industry chain and ecological system from raw materials, components, and complete vehicles to battery recycling, and is ready to contribute to China's power battery industry vision.
Written by Aggie Hu, huchenying@mysteel.com
