‘Two sessions’ 2022: China urged to ‘accelerate’ mining at major lithium deposits, including in Sichuan

Representatives of China’s lithium industry pitch their recommendations at the ‘two sessions’ policy-setting meetings in Beijing

Sichuan province has one of China’s richest and most accessible reserves of lithium, and sourcing the critical resource there would reduce the nation’s dependency on imports

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Workers check lithium batteries at Contemporary Amperex Technology in China’s Fujian province. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 4:30am, 5 Mar 2022Updated: 5:17am, 5 Mar 2022

As soaring global demand for lithium shows no signs of abating amid a global shift to battery-powered vehicles to reduce carbon emissions, the acceleration of lithium mining and extraction in China is of keen interest to industry representatives at the “two sessions” policy-setting gatherings in Beijing.

Jiang Weiping, chairman of Tianqi Lithium, a leading lithium miner and products maker in China, suggested that the country expedite the extraction of lithium resources in southwestern Sichuan province, which has one of China’s richest and most accessible reserves.

Accelerating the development of lithium ore resources in Sichuan would complement Beijing’s inward-facing dual-circulation strategy, according to Jiang, who also serves as a delegate of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature.

That strategy was first mentioned in May 2020 at a meeting of the Politburo, the centre of power within the Communist Party, and puts greater emphasis on the domestic market – or internal circulation – as a strategic approach for China to adapt to an increasingly unstable and hostile outside world.

The exploration and development of domestic lithium resources should be accelerated, to ensure the security of the supply chain

Zeng Yuqun, Contemporary Amperex Technology

And when it comes to lithium – a critical component in electric vehicle (EV) batteries because it is lightweight, stores abundant energy and can be repeatedly charged – the current supply remains tight, according to Zeng Yuqun, chairman of Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) – China’s largest EV battery manufacturer.