Summary：On January 8th, the China Geological Survey of the Ministry of Natural Resources announced that China's share of global lithium ore reserves had increased to 16.5%, ranking second in the world. This is attributed to technological breakthroughs, policy support, collaborative efforts, and the unlocking of domestic potential, significantly impacting multiple industries like mining, battery, and regional economies.

On January 8, the China Geological Survey of the Ministry of Natural Resources announced that China's lithium ore reserves have increased from 6% to 16.5% of the global total, jumping from the sixth to the second place in the world.

The main reasons for this include:

1.Technological breakthroughs
The adoption of an "air - space - ground integrated" lithium ore prospecting and exploration technical system has overcome technical bottlenecks in prospecting, leading to major discoveries in the world - class spodumene - type lithium metallogenic belt. The technical problems of extracting lithium from lepidolite have been solved, improving the utilization efficiency and economic efficiency of lepidolite. Progress has also been made in the technology of extracting lithium from salt lakes with a high magnesium - to - lithium ratio in the Qaidam Basin in Qinghai.

2.Policy support and action promotion
The state attaches great importance to the new energy industry and the exploration and development of lithium ore resources, and has introduced a series of supportive policies. In the new round of the strategic action for breakthroughs in prospecting, the China Geological Survey of the Ministry of Natural Resources, in collaboration with various parties, has launched a concentrated prospecting campaign.

3.Collaborative cooperation
The China Geological Survey of the Ministry of Natural Resources has joined hands with provincial geological exploration units and mining enterprises to form a multi - party collaborative prospecting mechanism, integrating the resource and technical advantages of all parties.

4.Release of its own resource potential
China itself has great potential for lithium ore resources. A world - class spodumene - type lithium metallogenic belt with a length of 2,800 kilometers in the Western Kunlun - Songpan - Garze region has been newly discovered. The cumulative proven resources amount to more than 6.5 million tons, and the resource potential exceeds 30 million tons. The newly added resources of lithium in salt lakes in China have reached more than 14 million tons, making China the world's third - largest salt - lake - type lithium resource base.

Impact on the industry

Mining
In the past, most of China's lithium resources were salt - lake lithium with high extraction difficulty. Now, the new discoveries of spodumene - type ore, etc., have made the structure of lithium ore mining more diversified.

With China's lithium ore reserves ranking second in the world, enterprises have more resources to develop, which will attract more funds into the lithium ore mining field, prompting enterprises to expand their mining scale and increase production capacity.

Batteries
China has become the world's largest producer and consumer of basic lithium - ion battery materials. The increase in lithium ore reserves can reduce the dependence on imported lithium resources and provide a stable raw material supply for the battery industry.

The stable supply and cost reduction of lithium ore enable battery enterprises to invest more resources in technological research and development, such as developing battery technologies with higher energy density and longer cycle life, promoting the upgrading of the battery industry.

New energy
Adequate lithium ore resources can ensure the stable supply of power batteries for new energy vehicles, reduce the cost of batteries, and thus reduce the overall production cost of new energy vehicles, enhancing the competitiveness of Chinese new energy vehicles in the global market.

The stable supply of lithium resources and cost advantages will attract more enterprises to enter the new energy vehicle field, promoting the scale expansion of the new energy vehicle industry, including vehicle production, parts and components supporting, and other links.

Down - stream industries
In the energy storage field, the increase in lithium ore reserves can ensure the raw material supply for energy storage batteries, promoting the application and development of the energy storage industry in areas such as power grid peak - shaving and distributed energy storage.

Consumer electronics products such as mobile phones and laptops have a large demand for lithium - ion batteries. The abundant and stable supply of lithium ore resources is conducive to the development of the consumer electronics industry, supporting product innovation and upgrading.

Regional economy
In regions rich in lithium ore resources such as Sichuan, Xinjiang, and Qinghai, the development of lithium ore will drive the development of local industries such as mining, smelting, and battery manufacturing, attract a large amount of investment, increase employment opportunities, and promote regional economic growth.

The development of the lithium ore industry will drive the development of upstream and downstream related supporting industries, such as logistics, chemicals, and machinery manufacturing, promote the coordinated development of industries, form industrial clusters, and enhance the overall competitiveness of regional industries.

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