A super-large altered granite type lithium deposit was found in the Jijiaoshan Mine Area of Linwu County, Chenzhou City through an innovative geological prospecting theory, according to the news from the Department of Natural Resources of Hunan Province on July 8.

The deposit has a total of 490 million tons of lithium ores and 1.31 million tons of lithium oxide (Li2O) resources, which are equivalent to 13 large lithium deposits.

In addition to the main mineral lithium, the deposit also contains various key strategic mineral resources such as tungsten, tin, niobium, tantalum, rubidium, all of which are newly added resources.

Lithium ore, as a key raw material for the new energy vehicle lithium battery industry, is known as the “white oil”.

The project is undertaken by the Mining Survey Institute of Hunan Geological Institute and Hunan Dazhonghe Lithium Mine Co., Ltd.. It started in June 2023 and completed exploration in August 2024, with a cumulative construction drilling footage of over 90,000 meters.

It analyzed over 40,000 samples, and submitted exploration results for super large lithium deposits and medium to large tungsten, tin, niobium, and tantalum deposits in one go.

The exploration process was not easy. The mining area is located at the top of Tongtianmiao Mountain, with steep and complex terrain. If using traditional road construction and transportation drilling equipment, not only would the construction difficulty be extremely high, but it would also bring significant vegetation damage and environmental risks.

The project team innovatively adopted a transportation method combining large unmanned aerial vehicles and cableway hoisting, and utilized advanced lightweight hydraulic drilling technology and equipment. Overcoming the key challenge of difficult construction conditions, green exploration has been achieved, greatly improving construction efficiency.

The discovery of the super large lithium mine will provide a solid resource foundation for the construction of a one-trillion-yuan level new energy industry chain in Hunan Province and a one-billion-yuan new energy base in Chenzhou City.

It will strongly support the investment and development of the entire lithium battery industry chain in Linwu County, create a large number of employment opportunities, and bring significant economic and social benefits.

Chinese source: rednet