A planetary atlas of material flowsOpening this view…
Start with an everyday object or material.
Jump directly to a material, regional account or named facility.
From mineral-rich brines and hard rock to the batteries that store our energy. Explore lithium’s extraction, conversion, cell making, use and recovery.
Mine, refinery, smelter and steel output are separate measures. Select a country to inspect the estimate; these figures do not trace a shipment.
Loading production estimates…
Operations bring lithium-bearing material into processing. The retained USGS country estimates measure contained lithium in mine production, not raw brine or ore mass.
Tailings, spent materials and water impacts vary by deposit and process.
Chemical processing makes battery-relevant lithium compounds such as carbonate or hydroxide. A national mine figure cannot be assigned to a converter.
Conversion residues and yields are not represented by the mine table.
Cathode materials, electrodes and cells are made through distinct processes with many other inputs.
Cell factories are not proved customers of a mapped mine.
Lithium remains in a battery during service, often for years. The battery is a material stock, not annual mine production.
Degradation and replacement depend on chemistry and use.
Safe collection and specialized processing can recover materials for further refining. E-waste totals include many other products.
Collection does not prove a lithium recovery yield or a closed loop.
Explore the local operations and regional systems that collect, transform and recover this material.
Checking available records…
The country production table cannot identify the converter, cathode plant, cell maker or buyer. That path needs verified operator and custody records.
No. Its 2025 measure is lithium content in mine production. Chemical output has a different mass basis.