It was reported on 30 September 2025 that Tibet Mineral Development Company Ltd, also known as Tibet Mining, has commenced commercial production of Lithium from Zabuye Salt Lake mine in Tibet, western China. It is going to produce around 9,600 tons / annum of battery-grade lithium carbonate. The development for this project started in June 2022, and the trial production had commenced in June 2024.
The Zabuye Salt Lake reported to hold among the world’s largest lithium brine deposits with a proven lithium reserves of around 1.8 million ton. The company is utilizing membrane separation and mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) technologies to extract lithium from salt lakes — reportedly the first to adopt this approach.
Tibet Mineral Development Company Ltd is a partly state-owned firm involved in the exploration, mining, processing, and sales of non-ferrous mineral resources in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). It functions under the supervision of China Baowu Iron & Steel Group, one of China’s largest state-owned steel enterprises.
