World’s second largest lithium deposits over 8.5 million tonnes are found in Iran
They say lithium is the white gold of the 21st century. The countries holding most of them will play a vital role in the world’s supply chain market. Iran recently reported that it has found the world’s second-largest reserve of lithium ore consisting of over 8.5 million tons. Iran will become the second country after Chile with the most lithium deposits.
The newly discovered deposits are in the western part of the country’s provinces called “Hamedan”. A struggling economy for a country like Iran will change the power dynamics completely after this discovery. The global supply chain markets will now see more products and equipment made out of the country’s lithium. The middle-east country has joined alongside India with having the world’s largest rare metal reserves.
| Top 5 Countries With The Most Lithium | Quantity of Lithium Reserve |
| Chile | 9.2 million metric tons |
| Argentina | 6.7 million metric tons |
| Bolivia | 5.4 million metric tons |
| China | 2 million metric tons |
| United States | 1 million metric tons |
Increasing Global Supply Chain Demands and Decreasing Costs
The country will help decrease the metal costs from its exports. Analysts claim the newly found deposits in the country will increase lithium’s supply with 34% growth. Thanks to that, the overall cost of other precious metals like Nickel and Cobalt will also see depriment. Iran might see an economic boost and more money pumping in due to the rising demand for electric vehicles. Electric vehicles, as well as anything which requires electricity to run, use rare earth metals.
Iran’s discovery came after India found its lithium reserve of over 5 million tonnes in Jammu & Kashmir state. With countries like China and Australia playing a significant role in lithium’s supply chain, the newly discovered lithium in both countries will shift that to them. While the country still has to regulate several things apart from its economy, the new lithium deposit might indicate a bright future for the country.