Yichun, a mountainous prefecture-level city in the Chinese province of Jiangxi, is pinning part of its future on lithium-ion batteries. In February, 2009, it formally announched that it would build an Asia lithium area based on Yichun Ta-Nb – Tantalum-Niobium – resources.Xie Sen, the municipal party committee secretary chaired the group supervising the lithium power industry development plan.
Yichun’s rich lithium resources will allow it to become a pillar industry of the city extending to eventually building a multi-billion dollar project in Jiangxi Province.
The aim is that before the end of 2015 the new industry producing lithium-ion batteries will have an output value of $44 billion.
My Battery World reports that already one mine has a daily processing capacity of 7,000 tons which accounted for 50% of the country’s total output last year.