Lithium Reserves And Tibet

Ever hear about "we are running out of Lithium"? I did, so this blog post saying we had plenty interested me. What I found the most interesting was this bit near the end of the article.

As to the issue of American lithium resources, Evans pointed out that a single geothermal well in southern California can produce enough lithium to meet all of the world's current demand for lithium. There are also lithium-bearing clays called Hectorite and oilfield brines that contain commercially-viable concentrations of lithium, though they would be more expensive to produce compared to the high desert brines in the Andes and Tibet.

How much lithium is there in the world in Evan's professional analysis? He estimates it at 28.4 million tonnes of lithium, which is equivalent to 150 million tonnes of lithium carbonate. Current world demand is 16,000 tonnes.

So lots of Lithium in Tibet. Maybe that is one of the reasons China is hanging on to Tibet so tenaciously.