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If lithium was as abundant as you claim, why is the Lithium Triangle a thing? The largest exporter is Australia and the largest importer is China. Were lithium
by eldaisfish 1y ago
If lithium was as abundant as you claim, why is the Lithium Triangle a thing?
The largest exporter is Australia and the largest importer is China. Were lithium abundant, why does China import most of its lithium?
- 7thaccount 1y agoI think because we weren't doing a whole lot of looking until recently. I think a bunch of lithium has been recently discovered in Arkansas.
- ianburrell 1y agoAbundant doesn't mean available in location. It can be concentrated in one spot and more economic to mine there and ship where needed. Australia also exports a billion tons of iron ore to China. Iron ore is everywhere, but easier to mine good ore in Australia and ship it. Shipping is really efficient.
- eldaisfish 1y agomy response was from the security of access angle. sure, lithium is more abundant than gold or silver but lithium access is not secure. Given that the largest lithium processing facilities by far are in one country (Chile), the supply of lithium is far from secure.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- fragmede 1y agoBecause processing it is a value added service, and China doesn't have an incentive to build lithium processing plants in Australia.