DLE Weekly delivers the latest insights on Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technologies, industry developments, and market trends. Stay tuned to see how DLE is shaping the future of sustainable energy.
DLE Weekly - 27 June 2025
Global Business, BICHEM Group
China Triumphs as the World’s Top Lithium Miner by 2026
China by next year will overtake Australia as the world’s top miner of the battery metal lithium, according to a forecast from consultancy Fastmarkets, and its market prowess is expected to grow through 2035 even as many Chinese producers remain unprofitable.
The projections are the latest data point underscoring Beijing’s commanding presence across the global metals supply chain, with China the dominant miner or refiner of more than half the minerals considered critical by the US Geological Survey.
By 2035, Chinese miners are likely to extract 900,000 metric tons of lithium, compared to Australia’s 680,000 metric tons, Chile’s 435,000 metric tons and Argentina’s 380,000 metric tons, according to the forecast.
Much of China’s growth has and likely will continue to come from mining a type of hard rock ore known as lepidolite, which is prolific in the southern part of the country.
Chinese battery giant CATL is one of the largest producers of lepidolite and had paused production at a key mine last September before resuming output in February.
Beyond mining, China for years has been the world’s largest refiner of the ultralight metal, with roughly 70% market share. Lithium refineries turn the metal into a form that can be used to make cathodes for batteries.
SQM cuts 5% of Chile workforce as prices fail to bounce back
The world’s second-biggest lithium miner SQM has begun laying off 5% of its Chilean workforce as it contends with a protracted slump in global prices for the battery metal, according to a company source and a union memo to workers seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
Lithium prices have plunged nearly 90% since their peak in late 2022 due to overproduction in China and slower-than-expected demand for electric vehicles, forcing some miners to slash jobs and halt expansions.
A company source said the cuts – to both the lithium and fertilizer units – would not affect core operations and or production guidance. SQM had no immediate plans for further layoffs, the person added.
US firm Albemarle, the only other lithium miner in Chile, cut workers last year as part of cost-cutting measures that it said helped to offset low lithium prices.
Ronbay Technology and Rock Tech Lithium sign Strategic MoU on Extensive Local Battery Materials Partnership in Europe
Ronbay Technology and Rock Tech Lithium sign Strategic MoU on Extensive Local Battery Materials Partnership in Europe.
Rock Tech Lithium Inc., a German-Canadian cleantech company developing lithium refining capacity in Europe and Ronbay Technology Co., Ltd. Ningbo, China, (“Ronbay”), a global leader in cathode active materials (CAM), today announced the signing of a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at creating a fully localized integrated lithium-ion battery materials supply chain in Europe.
At the core of this strategic partnership is the long-term supply of battery-grade lithium hydroxide from Rock Tech to Ronbay’s European cathode production facilities in order to produce battery related components for European demands. Consequentially, Ronbay offers direct support, including technical resources and potential investment, to ensure a rapid continuation of Rock Tech´s converter development in Guben, Germany. With Rock Tech’s Guben Converter located at the German-Polish border and Ronbay’s CAM facility in Poland this strategic partnership covers an important part of the local battery production as Europe accelerates its transition to sustainable energy storage and electric mobility.
E3 Lithium Outlines an Inaugural Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate of 5.0 Mt LCE for the Garrington District
E3 Lithium, a leader in Canadian lithium, is pleased to release an updated mineral resource report for its Garrington District in central Alberta. The NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Garrington District Lithium Resource Estimate outlines an updated Measured and Indicated mineral resource estimate of 5.0 million tonnes (“Mt”) of lithium carbonate equivalent (“LCE”).
The Garrington District is located in south-central Alberta directly southwest of the city of Edmonton at the north end, and it extends southwest of Edmonton to the town of Sundre (Figure 1). Within the Garrington District, the Company’s brine-hosted mineral rights cover approximately 155,236 hectares, leased from the crown, with the remaining area being unleased freehold mineral rights. The lithium concentrations on or near E3 Lithium’s Land holdings range from 45 mg/L to 61 mg/L, with an average of 54mg/L. The property sits directly to the west of E3 Lithium’s Bashaw District where the Company is currently developing its Clearwater Project. Similar to the Bashaw District, the Garrington District lithium brine deposit is hosted in the carbonate reef complex deposits of the Leduc Formation.
“Alberta’s lithium resources stand out globally as some of the most significant in size, thanks to the scale of the brine aquifers in the province,” said Chris Doornbos, President and CEO of E3 Lithium. “The resource update in the Garrington District highlights a separate region containing vast volumes of lithium-enriched brines to the west of our existing Bashaw District resources. E3 Lithium continues to focus our efforts on the development of the Clearwater Project and the additional Garrington resources expand our sizable inventory for long-term value creation.”
The disclosure in this news release of scientific and technical information pertaining to the Garrington District has been reviewed and approved by Meghan Klein, P.Eng., Head of Reservoir Engineering, Americas of Sproule ERCE, and Alexey Romanov, PhD., P.Geo., Principal Geoscientist of Sproule ERCE. Both Ms. Klein, and Mr. Romanov are “Qualified Person’s” as defined under NI 43-101– Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
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