Global mineral resources reserves: lithium ore 128 million tons cobalt ore 6.68 million tons nickel ore 90.63 million tons

On October 22nd, the Global Mineral Resources Strategy Research Center of China Geological Survey released the Evaluation report of Global Lithium, Cobalt, Nickel, Tin and Potash Mineral Resources reserves (2021).

Data show that by 2020, the global lithium ore (lithium carbonate) reserves of 128 million tons, resources of 349 million tons, mainly distributed in Chile, Australia, Argentina, Bolivia and other countries. Cobalt ore reserves of 6.68 million tons, resources of 23.44 million tons, Congo (Kinshasa), Indonesia, Australia and other countries are the most enriched. Nickel reserves are 90.63 million tons and resources are 260 million tons. Indonesia ranks first in the world in reserves, while Australia, Russia and other countries are rich in resources. Tin reserves are 3.27 million tons and resources are 8.07 million tons. China, Russia, Southeast Asia and other countries and regions are the main producing areas of tin deposits. The global potash (potassium chloride) reserves are 12.9 billion tons and the resources are 43 billion tons. Russia, Canada, Belarus and Turkmenistan account for 80 percent of the world's reserves. Russia has surpassed Canada to become the largest potash reserve country.

From the consumer side, the global consumption of lithium (lithium carbonate) in 2020 is about 400000 tons, cobalt about 170000 tons, nickel about 2.4 million tons, tin about 380000 tons, potash (potassium chloride) about 54 million tons. Compared with the existing reserves, the protection degree of global lithium, nickel and potash resources is higher, while that of cobalt and tin is relatively low.

In the next step, the China Geological Survey of the Ministry of Natural Resources will speed up the establishment and improvement of the global mineral resources reserves data system and evaluation mechanism, plan to complete the dynamic assessment of the world's 40 important mineral resources reserves in five years, and release services in a timely manner. We will actively contribute China's wisdom and strength to the promotion of global mining cooperation and the building of a global mining community with a shared future.

On the same day, the International Mining Research Center of the China Geological Survey also released the Global Mining Development report (2020-2021). The report shows that since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, the overall global demand for energy resources has shrunk, the structure has been divided, the consumption of energy and bulk minerals has declined, and the consumption of new energy minerals has increased rapidly. In 2020, total global energy consumption fell by 4.5 per cent, the largest decline since World War II; oil, coal and natural gas fell by 9.5 per cent, 3.9 per cent and 2.1 per cent respectively, and renewable energy such as wind power, hydropower and solar energy increased by 9.7 per cent. Iron and aluminum decreased by 0.2% and 0.7% respectively, while copper, lithium and cobalt increased by 6.2%, 15.3% and 7.3%, respectively.

The report shows that the performance of mining companies has generally rebounded since the second half of 2020, and revenue and market capitalization have continued to rise. The combined market capitalization of the world's top 50 mining companies reached 1.47 trillion US dollars, an all-time high. Mining giant comprehensive strength to further enhance, accelerate the layout of copper and lithium, cobalt, nickel and other new energy minerals.