China increases Jiada lithium deposit reserves by 70 percent

China has increased the resource base of the large Jiada lithium deposit in Sichuan province by approximately 70 percent. Total registered resources at the site have reached 2.53 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE).

The newly discovered resources include 33.52 million tons of ore containing approximately 423,800 tons of lithium oxide. This represents a 70.5 percent increase over the previously registered 1.48 million tons of LCE. Dazhong Mining, the company developing the project, stated that the additional resources have undergone review and registration with the relevant ministry.

At full capacity, the initial mining zone—which has an approved exploitation capacity of 2.6 million tons of ore per year—is estimated to produce about 50,000 tons of lithium carbonate annually. The project is currently awaiting final permits for exploitation and operation. The Jiada deposit is located within the ‘Asian lithium belt,’ a critical region for hard-rock lithium extraction in China.