According to SMM data, the global lithium resource production in 2023 totaled 107.7 thousand tons of LCE, with a year-on-year growth rate of 39%, maintaining a high level. In 2022 and 2021, the global lithium resource production was 77.6 thousand tons and 52.7 thousand tons of LCE, with growth rates of 47% and 27% respectively.
In 2023, Australia had the highest lithium resource supply, reaching 35.8 thousand tons of LCE. Chile's lithium resource supply reached 23.4 thousand tons, while China's lithium resource production supplied 21.6 thousand tons. In the 2023 global lithium resource/lithium salt production, the top ten companies (CR10) accounted for 81.9% of the market total supply. In terms of imports, as the world's largest net importer of lithium resources, China's imports of lithium concentrate have continued to expand significantly in recent years, greatly supplementing the shortage of domestic lithium mine supply. According to SMM data, the import volume of lithium concentrate in 2023 was 429.9 thousand tons, a year-on-year increase of 53.2%, with the total import value of lithium concentrate reaching $14.98 billion, a year-on-year increase of 84.3%. Of this, 344.2 thousand tons of lithium concentrate were imported from Australia, a 31.1% increase from the previous year, accounting for 80.1% of the total import volume of lithium concentrate in 2023.
