r/science • u/Sort_of_Frightening • Sep 10 '23

Chemistry Lithium discovery in U.S. volcano could be biggest deposit ever found

https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/lithium-discovery-in-us-volcano-could-be-biggest-deposit-ever-found/4018032.article
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u/kihraxz_king Sep 10 '23

That would be huge. That would take a big chunk out of China's advantage in batteries and electronics in general.

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u/AtheistAustralis Sep 11 '23

China isn't a huge lithium source, it only produces about 15% of global supply. Australia is #1 with around 50%, then Chile (30%), China, and the rest are quite small.

In terms of proven reserves, China is also nowhere near as big as most of the South American countries and the US. This new discovery would propel US to the top of that chart, but the US was already well above China.

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u/kihraxz_king Sep 12 '23

Thanks. Wonder what it was I was thinking of. Rare earth magnets maybe? Some element that does tech stuff.....

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u/AtheistAustralis Sep 12 '23

Yes, China has a huge percentage of rare earth deposits, something like 33% of the entire world reserves, and currently produce more than 80% of the total supply. Stuff like Neodymium for magnets, Cerium and Lanthanum for catalytic converters, and so on. There are plenty of other deposits available, but right now it's cheaper and easier to just get it from China so everybody does, and therefore the supply from other areas hasn't really scaled up.