The discovery of lithium reserves in western Iran
Will the discovery of large lithium reserves change Iran’s position in the international system?
Last week, the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade of Iran announced the discovery of two mines in Hamedan province with a reserve of 8.5 million tons of lithium ore. Some media outlets also reported the reserves of this mine as 85 million tons of pure lithium, based on which they claimed that Iran is the holder of the world’s fourth-largest lithium reserves. In another news, it was also announced that Iran owns the second-largest lithium mine in the world.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister of Industry in Iran claims that the discovery of lithium reserves in Iran is for the first time.
This is despite the fact that 10 years ago, the former head of the Geological Survey and Mineral Exploration Organization of Iran announced the discovery of the rare element lithium in the southern and northeastern regions of Iran in December 2012.
Considering that the Ministry of Industry in Iran mentioned the discovered lithium reserves as lithium ore of 8.5 million tons, the actual pure reserves of this country will be much lower than this figure.