As a key raw material for the new energy industry, lithium resources are becoming increasingly important. Globally, lithium resources mainly come from salt lake brines, hard rock lithium mines and lithium clay mines. Among them, salt lake brine lithium extraction technology has been widely used due to its cost-effectiveness and environmental advantages.
I. Global distribution of lithium brine resources
The lithium brine resources on earth are mainly concentrated in the South American “lithium triangle” region (Chile, Argentina, Bolivia) and China's Tibetan Plateau region. South America “lithium triangle” by virtue of its rich resources, high lithium concentration, low magnesium-lithium ratio and very good geographical location (close to the port), occupies the lion's share of the global lithium brine resources (about 80%). China, on the other hand, has become an important source of lithium brine resources with a share of 12%.
Second, the characteristics of China's lithium brine resources
Resource distribution: China's lithium brine ore is mainly endowed in the upper Pleistocene to Holocene strata, widely distributed in Qinghai, Tibet, Hubei and other provinces. The brine-type lithium deposits in Qinghai are mainly sulfate-type, mainly concentrated in the Charkhan mining area; while the carbonate-type brines in Tibet are mainly carbonate-type, with abundant lithium, boron, rubidium, cesium, bromine and other trace elements.
Resource types: Qinghai's sulfate-type brines are rich in ions such as K+, Na+, and Mg²⁺, while Tibet's carbonate-type brines are characterized by their richness in ions such as Cs⁺, Rb⁺, and solid-phase lithium minerals such as lithium carbonate and lithium-bearing dolomite.
Reserves and production: There are a total of 14 brine-type lithium mining areas in China, with submitted reserves, base reserves and resources of 3,716,400 tons, 10,765,900 tons and 7,746,000 tons, respectively, and a total of 23,633,900 tons of lithium ore resource reserves identified. Among them, Qinghai and Tibet are relatively concentrated areas of lithium resources. As the main component of China's lithium resources, the salt lake lithium reserves account for about 48% of the national total, and is the key area for the development of domestic lithium resources.
Key salt lakes and development situation
Salt lakes in the Qaidam Basin: Charkhan Salt Lake, Dongtai Ginel Salt Lake, Xitai Ginel Salt Lake, Dachaidan Salt Lake and Yiliping Salt Lake are the better representatives of lithium extraction from salt lakes in the Qaidam Basin. These salt lakes have attracted the investment and development of a number of companies, including Salt Lake Group, Zangger Holdings, Qinghai Lithium Resources, Minmetals Salt Lake and so on.
Tibet salt lake: Tibet has Zabuye, Dangxiong wrong, Bango wrong, Jiezhe Chaqa and other carbonate-type lithium salt lake, brine in lithium, boron content is high, and rich in a variety of additional trace elements. There are numerous salt lakes in Tibet whose brines have reached the border industrial grade, of which there are 8 salt lakes above the large scale, with lithium chloride resource reserves supplying 17.3834 million tons. In addition, the salt lakes of the Tibetan Plateau are also rich in prospective lithium chloride resources, with estimated reserves of 10 million tons or more.