The demand for Lithium carbonate in 2021 was estimated to be 465,000 metric tons.
In 2030, demand is forecast to hit 2.1 million metric tons.
With both the demand and cost of lithium rising dramatically over the last few months, and forecast to do so into the future, this infographic takes a look at the countries which mines the most of the metal, and where the largest reserves are held.
Data from the U.S. Geological Survey shows that Australia and Chile are the countries best positioned to capitalise on the lithium rush.
In 2021, 55,000 metric tons were mined in Australia – more than double of that extracted in Chile – although Chile has considerably larger reserves of lithium
Production figures for the US were not published in order to “avoid disclosing company proprietary data”. US resources were recorded at 750,000 metric tons in 2021.
