Lithium mining in Australia

The Greenbushes mine in Western Australia is the largest hard-rock lithium mine in the world

Australia has one of the biggest lithium reserves[1] and is the biggest producer of lithium by weight,[2] with most of its production coming from mines in Western Australia. Most Australian lithium is produced from hard-rock spodumene,[3] in contrast to other major producers like Argentina, Chile and China, which produce it mainly from salt lakes.[4]

The world's largest hard-rock lithium mine, the Greenbushes mine, is in Western Australia.[5] It is co-operated by the Chinese company Tianqi Lithium and the Australian companies Talison Lithium and IGO Limited.[6] In 2021, it contributed 40% of the lithium mined in Australia.[7]

Australia is home to lithium miners Orocobre, Core Lithium, Pilbara Minerals, Mineral Resources and Altura Mining.[8]

  1. ^ Azevedo, Marcelo; Baczyńska, Magdalena; Hoffman, Ken; Krauze, Aleksandra (12 April 2022). "Lithium mining: How new production technologies could fuel the global EV revolution". McKinsey. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  2. ^ Chew, Carman (22 April 2023). "Factbox: World's biggest lithium producers". Reuters. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  3. ^ Nicholas, Lorna (26 February 2019). "Lithium stocks on the ASX: The Ultimate Guide". Small Caps. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  4. ^ Chew, Carman (22 April 2023). "Factbox: World's biggest lithium producers". Reuters. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  5. ^ Hastie, Hamish (2 October 2018). "Lithium 'buzz' could be worth hundreds of billions to Australia". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  6. ^ Barrera, Priscila; Kelly, Lauren (28 March 2023). "7 Biggest Lithium-mining Companies in 2023". Investingnews.com. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  7. ^ Kurmelovs, Royce (11 November 2022). "How Australia became the world's greatest lithium supplier". BBC. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  8. ^ Nicholas, Lorna (26 February 2019). "Lithium stocks on the ASX: The Ultimate Guide". Small Caps. Retrieved 16 May 2019.