On June 18, the kiln start-up ceremony for Dazhong Mining's subsidiary, Hunan Dazhonghe Lithium, for its 20,000-tonne lithium carbonate production line was held in Linwu County. The overall plan calls for an annual production capacity of 80,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate, to be built in two phases, with Phase I planned for 40,000 tonnes of capacity. This 20,000-tonne line has now entered the trial operation stage.
The mine contains 490 million tonnes of lithium ore and 1.31 million tonnes of lithium oxide resources, along with associated strategic minerals including rubidium, tungsten, tin, niobium, and tantalum, all at medium or above scale. The beneficiation plant is designed to process 20 million tonnes of ore annually. The project obtained its Mining License in January 2026, and the Safety Production Permit and other related procedures are being processed in accordance with laws and regulations. The mine and integrated lithium salt plant are scheduled to commence full production in the early fourth quarter of this year.
The project has addressed two major challenges facing the lithium battery industry, high environmental pressure and high production costs, by independently developing a harmless comprehensive lithium extraction process from lithium slag. The comprehensive recovery rate of lithium mica exceeds 90%, while simultaneously recovering high-value associated metals such as potassium, rubidium, and cesium. Compared to traditional processes, the project's production costs have been reduced by 30% to 50%, and lithium slag generation has been cut by nearly half. After treatment, the lithium slag meets general industrial solid waste standards and can be directly recycled as a construction material, achieving reduction, harmless disposal, and resource utilization of lithium slag
Edited by Cassie Li, lixiangying@mysteel.com
