On the evening of September 25, Xizang Mining Development Co., Ltd. announced that the project of green comprehensive development and utilization of ten thousand tons of battery grade lithium carbonate in Zabuye Salt Lake in Xizang was officially completed and put into operation. This news marks a significant breakthrough in China's lithium extraction technology from salt lakes and the construction of independent lithium resource security capabilities.

It is reported that the project successfully completed a 120 hour continuous functional assessment from September 20th to 24th, and all technical indicators met the design requirements, marking the successful end of the trial production phase and officially entering the large-scale production phase. After the project is fully operational, it is expected to achieve the goal of producing 10000 tons of battery grade lithium carbonate annually, which will effectively alleviate the urgent demand for high-quality lithium resources in the domestic new energy industry.

As the third largest lithium salt lake in the world and the largest lithium salt lake in Asia, the concentration of lithium in the brine of Zabuye Salt Lake in Xizang is second only to that of Atacama Salt Lake in Chile, and has high mining value. Since the start of the project, it has taken four years to complete the construction. Xizang Mining holds 50.72% of the equity of Xizang Shigatse Zabuye Lithium Industry High Technology Co., Ltd., the main body of the project, and Tianqi Lithium holds 20% of the equity.

It is worth noting that the project has demonstrated significant advantages in cost control. According to Xizang Mining, the cost of extracting lithium from salt lakes of the project is 20% lower than that of other domestic salt lakes, and 50% -70% lower than that of extracting lithium from lithium ores. This cost advantage will greatly enhance the competitiveness of the project in the market competition.

The successful operation of the project not only fills the gap of large salt lake lithium extraction projects in Xizang, but also sets an industry benchmark in the application of high-altitude salt lake lithium extraction technology. Through the practice of this project, replicable technical solutions and operational experience have been provided for the large-scale development of lithium resources in salt lakes with similar geological conditions and environmental characteristics.

However, the development of lithium resources in salt lakes in Xizang still faces many challenges. Although the region has abundant reserves of lithium resources in salt lakes, accounting for about 33% of the total lithium resources in salt lakes nationwide, factors such as high-altitude environment, complex brine composition, and weak infrastructure have always constrained the large-scale development of lithium extraction from salt lakes. The 4-year construction cycle of the Xizang Mining Project also fully confirms the difficulty of the transformation from resources to production capacity of the lithium extraction project in salt lakes in high-altitude areas.

At present, many enterprises, including Zangger Mining, Xizang Urban Investment, Tianqi Lithium and Zijin Mining, have been located in Xizang. Industry experts said that the successful commissioning of Xizang Zabuye Project will provide important reference for other enterprises to develop projects in Xizang. The subsequent capacity ramp up of the project and the actual capacity that can ultimately be released will continue to be closely monitored by all parties in the new energy industry chain.

The launch of this important project has strategic significance for enhancing China's ability to independently guarantee lithium resources and maintaining the security of the new energy industry and supply chain. In the context of the rapid development of China's new energy vehicle industry, the smooth progress of the Zabuye project in Xizang will provide an important raw material guarantee for the sustainable development of China's new energy industry. Editor/Yang Beihua