The world’s lithium is mined in just a handful of countries

Date: Feb 02, 2025

By: Pablo Rosado & Hannah Ritchie

Lithium is a critical component in many industries, including pharmaceuticals, optics, ceramics, and glass. But it’s best known for its use in batteries. Most rechargeable batteries in mobile phones, laptops, and consumer electronics are made from lithium-ion chemistries.

It’s also receiving increasing attention as a critical mineral in batteries for electric cars and storage for renewable energy.

Just a handful of countries supply the world’s lithium. In the chart, you can see each country’s share of global mined production in 2023. Australia produced almost half. Combined with China, Chile, and Argentina, these four countries produced over 90% of the total.

Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia form the so-called “lithium triangle”, which are large lithium deposits that span across these three countries. While Bolivia has huge lithium resources, it has produced very little so far.

This data comes from the United States Geological Survey.

Explore which countries produce other critical minerals in our data explorer →

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Guy Keller

Portfolio Manager,
Tribeca Investment Partners

Tribeca’s Nuclear Energy Opportunities Strategy invests in the equity and debt of companies involved in the nuclear energy industry with a key focus on the uranium sector. Portfolio Manager Guy Keller runs the only dedicated uranium sector strategy in Australia and is one of only a handful globally. The strategy has been running for 7 years and has generated returns of ~600% net of fee since inception.

Guy has over two decades of global commodity trading experience including 15 years as Head of Asia Base Metals Trading at Macquarie Bank. He holds a Bachelor of Social Science majoring in Economics from UNSW and a Master of Applied Finance from Macquarie University, Sydney.

Ron Bernbaum

Founder & CEO,
PearTree Securities Canada

With an extensive background in law, tax and finance, Ron has blended his proven talent for recognizing, structuring and implementing innovative, yet conservative, financing structures with a sincere, lifelong dedication to supporting philanthropic causes.

Amongst his accomplishments, Ron has structured and created an investment fund listed with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, a REIT listed on the American Stock Exchange, and a family of tax-efficient mutual funds for investment dealers. As early as 2004, Ron presented the use of flow through shares to philanthropists and charities as a way to reduce the after-tax cost of giving. Ron has the ability to productize tax-efficient financial products that meet both the policy and technical requirements of the tax legislation and he was the driving force in the first flow through donation transactions, the first CRA ruling and the first Revenu Quebec ruling.

In 2021 Ron was the recipient of the AME 2021 Special Tribute Award for service to the minerals industry in BC. AME acknowledged Ron for his role in creating the Charitable Flow-Through financing mechanism.

Rob McEwen

Executive Chairman & CEO,
McEwen Mining Inc.

Rob is the Chairman and Chief Owner of McEwen Mining, which has three producing mines in Nevada, Ontario, and Argentina and holds 48% interest in the large Los Azules copper project in Argentina. Rob has been associated with the gold industry all his career, his first 18 years in the investment industry and since 1990 as CEO of several gold mining companies.

Rob is the founder of Goldcorp, where he took the company from a market capitalization of $50 million to over $8 billion. With a cost of investment in McEwen Mining (NYSE, TSX: MUX) and McEwen Copper of US$225 million, he owns 16% of MUX, 13% of McEwen Copper and takes a salary of $1 per year.

Rob and his wife, Cheryl, have donated over $60 million to encourage excellence and innovation in healthcare and education.

Rob was awarded the Order of Canada in 2007, the Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee Award in 2013, was inducted into the Mining Hall of Fame in 2017 and has Honorary Doctor of Law Degrees from York University and Western University.

He is also a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board, Schulich School of Business; X Prize Foundation: Vision Circle and Board of Trustees; a member of CEO (Chief Executive Organization) and of WPO (World Presidents’ Organization) and serves on the Advisory Board of the McEwen School of Architecture.

Abigail Hunter

Executive Director,
SAFE Centre for Critical Minerals Strategy

Abigail Hunter is the Executive Director of SAFE’s Ambassador Alfred Hoffman Jr. Center for Critical Minerals Strategy (Minerals Center). Previously, Abigail served as Director of International Affairs and Partnerships within the Minerals Center.

Before joining SAFE full time, Hunter headed federal government affairs for Quebec for nearly three years as the senior attachée in Washington, D.C. Her mandate focused on the energy, environment, and trade relationship between the province and United States. Hunter started her career at the National Governors Association, where she led the association’s international work.

Hunter completed her Masters in Sustainable Energy at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Her four-part capstone on aluminum’s clean energy paradox was published by the SAFE Center for Strategic Industrial Metals. She received her Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University with a double major inInternational Management and Managing for Sustainability.

Born in Toronto and growing up in New Jersey, Hunter is a proud dual citizen and conflicted hockey fan.

Joe Mazumdar

Editor / Analyst and Publisher,
Exploration Insights

Mr. Mazumdar joined Brent Cook as co-editor and analyst of Exploration Insights in December 2015 and transitioned into the sole editor soon after.

His previous experience includes six years as Senior Mining Analyst at Haywood Securities and Canaccord Genuity in Vancouver, five years as Director of Strategic Planning, Corporate Development at Newmont Mining (Denver), and over three years as Senior Market Analyst/CommodityTrader at Phelps Dodge (now Freeport McMoRan, Phoenix). Before becoming a mining analyst, he spent over a decade as an exploration geologist in different capacities for IAMGOLD, North Minerals, and RTZ in South America (Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Ecuador), MIM Exploration in Queensland, Australia, and Noranda and others in Western Canada (British Columbia, Yukon) and the Northwest Territories. He holds a BSc in Geology (1988) from the University of Alberta, an MSc in Geology and Mining (1997) from James Cook University (Queensland), and an MSc in Mineral Economics (2003) from the Colorado School of Mines.

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Hon. John Baird

Senior Business Advisor,
Bennett Jones LLP.

John Baird is a Senior Advisor at Bennett Jones LLP and a former Senior Cabinet Minister in the Government of Canada.

An instrumental figure in bilateral trade and investment relationships, Mr. Baird has played a leading role in the Canada-China dialogue and worked to build ties with ASEAN countries. In addition, Mr. Baird has worked closely with international leaders to strengthen security and economic ties with the United States and Middle Eastern countries.

A native of Ottawa, Baird spent three terms as a Member of Parliament and four years as Foreign Minister. He also served as President of the Treasury Board, Minister of the Environment, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons. In 2010, he was selected by Members of Parliament from all parties as Parliamentarian of the Year. Prior to entering federal politics, Mr. Baird spent ten years in the Ontario Legislature where he served as Minister of Community and Social Services, Minister of Energy, and Government House Leader.

In addition to his work with Bennett Jones, Mr. Baird sits on the advisory board of Barrick Gold Corp., the corporate boards of Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited (CPKC), Canfor Corporation (as Chair), the FWD Group and PineBridge Investments. He also serves as a Senior Advisor at Eurasia Group, a global political risk consultancy.

Mr. Baird also volunteers his time with Community Living Ontario, an organization that supports individuals with developmental disabilities, the Prince’s Trust Canada, the charitable office of His Majesty King Charles III, and is a board member of the Friends of Israel Initiative. He holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Studies and an Honourary Doctorate of Law from Queen’s University at Kingston.

Roderik van Losenoord

Senior Partner,
Nebari Holdings LLC.

Prior to starting Nebari, Roderik spent over 15 years in the metals & mining industry. He started his career in base metals production in Sudbury and held various technical and commercial roles with Xstrata. He later transitioned to Xstrata’s Coal and Iron Ore Division and eventually joined Glencore’s team where he focused on M&A and Business Development.

Roderik attained a master’s degree in extractive metallurgy in the Netherlands at Delft University of Technology and an MBA in Paris at the Collège des Ingénieurs.

Jon Case

VP, Portfolio Manager & Research Lead – Equities,
CI Global Asset Management.

Jon Case, Vice-President, Portfolio Manager & Research Lead – Equities, joined CI GAM in 2011 and is the sector lead for materials. Prior to joining CI GAM, Jon was a portfolio manager at another Canadian asset manager. Before that, he was a research analyst specializing in precious metals and a partner at Paradigm Capital, an independent institutional boutique. Prior to equity research Jon held a position at RBC Dominion Securities as an Investment Advisor. Jon is a CFA charterholder, holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honors) from McMaster University, and a Master of Finance from the University of Toronto. He is a member of the CFA Toronto Society and loves to golf and kitesurf when not playing dad to his two kids.

Paul Brink

VP, Portfolio Manager & Research Lead – Equities,
CI Global Asset Management

Paul Brink is President & CEO and a director of Franco-Nevada. Prior to his
appointment as CEO, Mr. Brink served as President & Chief Operating Officer of
Franco-Nevada from May 2018 to May 2020. He has been with Franco-Nevada since its
IPO in 2007 and successfully led its business development activities as SVP, Business
Development from 2008 until his promotion to President & Chief Operating Officer in
2018. Mr. Brink is active with a number of not-for-profit organizations. He previously
had roles in corporate development at Newmont, investment banking at BMO Nesbitt
Burns and project financing at UBS. Mr. Brink holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical
Engineering from the University of Witwatersrand and a Master’s degree in
Management Studies from Oxford University.

Mike Alkin

Chief Investment Officer,
Sachem Cove Partners LLC

Michael (Mike) Alkin is a principal of Sachem Cove Partners, LLC, the general partner of Sachem Cove Special Opportunities Fund, LP. He is also the Chief Investment Officer of Public Equities of Lloyd Harbor Capital Management, LLC, the investment manager of the Fund, and in that role is primarily responsible for the Fund’s investment process. He has nearly 30 years of hedge fund experience with experience across many industries. Prior to Sachem Cove and Lloyd Harbor, he was an analyst and partner for 7 years at Knott Partners. Before Knott, among his positions he worked at Walker Smith Capital, Zweig-DiMenna and Windsor Partners.

David Lotan

Non-Executive Chairman, Aurion Resources Ltd.

CEO, LHI Capital

Mr. Lotan is the President of LHI an investment company focused on natural resource opportunities. In his previous career David was the founder and CEO of the structured finance operations of Polar Capital – a Canadian merchant bank and alternative asset manager, acted as a portfolio manager for the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and was a risk management consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers focused on commodities and rates. Mr. Lotan is a Chartered Accountant and CPA.

Nicolas Carter

Executive Vice President,
Uranium UxC, LLC

Nicolas (Nick) Carter has 31 years of nuclear industry experience and currently holds the position of Executive Vice President, Uranium at UxC, LLC (UxC). He is responsible for managing and coordinating uranium consulting projects and products, including the Ux Weekly, Uranium Market Outlook, Uranium Suppliers Annual, and Uranium Production Cost Study. Mr. Carter has extensive and varied expertise, providing strategic consulting to major commercial companies in the nuclear fuel industry, and advising government and international organizations on uranium market and policy issues. He specializes in economic analysis and forecasting of the uranium market, specifically in the areas of worldwide U₃O₈ production capability, production costs, and price projections.

Andrew Miller

Chief Operating Officer
Benchmark Mineral Intelligence

Andrew Miller holds the position of COO at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence Ltd (Benchmark), a London based research and consultancy firm focusing on critical raw materials and energy storage supply chains. Andrew oversees Benchmark’s supply chain research and analysis, which stretches from downstream assessments of anode, cathode and battery production through to price assessments and forecasting for the key lithium ion battery raw materials – lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite.

At Benchmark, Andrew regularly delivers industry presentations and travels to active mines and processing plants across the world. He has also advised some of the world’s leading institutional investors, auto OEMs, battery producers and mining companies, and manages a portfolio of subscription services which provide in-depth market data and reference pricing for the lithium ion battery supply chain. Andrew’s previous role was as an Analyst with Industrial Minerals / Metal Bulletin. Prior to this position, Andrew started his career analysing financial markets for UK-based Invesco Perpetual and graduated with a first-class honours degree in Economics from the University of East Anglia, UK.

Michael Gentile

Co-Founder of Bastion Asset Management
Strategic Investor in the Metals and Mining Sector

Mr. Gentile, CFA is considered one of the leading strategic investors in the junior mining sector, owning significant top five ownership stakes in over 20 small-cap mining companies. Mr. Gentile is currently a strategic advisor to Arianne Phosphate (DAN-V) and Geomeaga Resources (GMA-V) and director of Northern Superior Resources (SUP-V), Roscan Gold (ROS-V), Radisson Mining Resources (RDS-V) and Solstice Gold (SGC-V). Michael recently co-founded Bastion Asset Management in January 2022 a rapidly growing money management firm in Montreal with over $250MM in AUM and was previously a Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager with Formula Growth Limited.

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