TibetanReview
January 23, 2010

Tibet Mineral Development Co., Ltd, the only
listed mining company in Tibet Autonomous Region
(TAR), hopes to become the biggest lithium
producer in the PRC and, perhaps, even in the
world, after it integrates the lithium resources
in the region’s salt lakes, reported China’s
official Xinhua news agency Jan 21. The current
global capacity of lithium carbonate averages only 40,000 to 50,000 tons.

The company is currently focusing on developing
the lithium carbonate project in the Zhabuye Salt
Lake. It plans to produce 5,000 tons in the first
phase of he construction of this project and
20,000 tons in the second phase. The lake's
lithium carbonate reserves are estimated at 2.4 million tons.

Tibet Mineral Development Co., Ltd holds 40
percent the shares of the Shengyuan Mining Group
Corporation, which was founded on Dec 16, 2009
and is expected to serve as a major platform for
restructuring Tibet's mining industry.

The company’s other business lines include
mineral resources like chromium iron and copper, the report said.

The report said the TAR had 490 salt lakes with
water surface topping one sq km, and the reserves
of only seven of them had been verified so far.