(Yicai Global) June 14 -- Eastern China's Jiangxi province, home to the "lithium capital of Asia," is solidifying its position as the country's biggest hub of lithium resources.

Jiangxi has 40 percent of the country’s total proven lithium reserves, ranking first among all provincial administrative regions, Bo Zhiping, director of minerals at the Ministry of Natural Resources, said at a press conference today.

China added 57 percent of additional proved reserve in lithium resources in 2022, with almost 95 percent of all added reserves last year were located in Jiangxi, Bo said, and more specifically, most of them are from two mines in Yichun, also known as the “lithium capital of Asia.”

The lithium ores found in Yichun are mainly lepidolite, Bo said. Most ores are low-grade lithium-bearing ceramic clay minerals, discovered through open-pit mining. Local mining costs have dropped significantly as technologies have improved, and the demand for the material used in electric vehicle batteries has risen, encouraging companies to explore more.

However, as mining increases, the country should pay special attention to the accumulation of waste that is piling up rapidly in order to avoid environmental pollution, per Bo. From February to March, a central work group, mainly consisting of officials from the Ministry of Land and Resources and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, ordered Yichun to close or suspend some lithium mines and mineral processing enterprises due to pollution by the waste.

China is rich in lithium ores, including spodumene and lepidolite ores and lithium found in salt lakes, but there are only a few high-quality sources, Bo said. Besides Jiangxi, the western province of Qinghai, Sichuan, as well as the Tibet Autonomous Region, have vast lithium resources, whereas Henan province and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region are home to some mines, the director added.

In 2022, China’s proven reserves of cobalt and nickel, two other important raw materials for lithium batteries, grew 14.5 percent and 3 percent, respectively, from 2021, Bo concluded.

Editor: Emmi Laine