Lithium

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Aerial view of a lithium brine evaporation pond and processing area in the Atacama Desert in Chile.

Lithium (Li) is a metal, classified as atomic number 3 on the periodic table of elements. Lithium has the lowest density of all metals. One of the major uses of lithium is in batteries, especially rechargeable batteries such as are found in electronic devices like laptops and mobile phones, in electric vehicles (EVs), and batteries used to store electricity at power plants. In addition to its use in batteries, lithium also has various industrial and manufacturing applications as well as some pharmaceutical applications. As of a 2026 estimate, approximately 88% of the global end use of lithium is for batteries.

Figure (a): Worldwide lithium reserves (2023). Figure (b): Worldwide lithium production (2022). Based on the 2023 US Geological Survey.

Rather than occurring on its own, lithium is highly reactive and is found combined in small amounts in nearly all igneous rocks and in the waters of many mineral springs. Lithium is mainly found and extracted either from the brine of salt flats and dried lake beds, or from hard rock. The world's lithium brine resources are mainly located in what is called the "Lithium Triangle" which spans parts of Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile, and in dry areas in the western United States and western China. Lithium hard rock resources are mainly located in Australia, China, Zimbabwe, Portugal, Brazil, Canada, and Russia, among other countries.

Lithium mining takes place in two major methods, depending on qualities of the source where lithium is present. When found in minerals within hard rock formations, it is extracted using traditional hard rock mining methods. Lithium may also be found in the brine of salt flats or dried lake beds. In this case, lithium-rich brine is pumped to the surface and transferred to evaporation ponds, where water evaporates and leaves behind concentrated lithium. Other methods of lithium extraction are also being explored, such as by using specialized filters to extract it from brine (called "direct lithium extraction", or DLE), or attempts to extract lithium from old mine waste.