The lithium game is heating up 🔋 As EV demand surges, the battle for lithium supremacy is reshaping global supply chains. Australia still leads with 88,000 MT (though production dipped 4% YoY), but Chile's climbing fast at 49,000 MT. China's in third with 41,000 MT and hungry for more—just discovered a potential 30 million MT reserve.

Here's what's wild: Zimbabwe exploded from 6th to 4th place, jumping 47% YoY to 22,000 MT. Meanwhile, Argentina's production more than doubled in 2024 to 18,000 MT, and analysts reckon it could grow 10x by 2027.

The real story? Global lithium output hit 240,000 MT last year vs 204,000 MT in 2023. But markets stayed choppy—lithium carbonate prices dropped 22% in 2024 despite oversupply narrowing. Benchmark forecasts 30%+ YoY demand growth in 2025 from EVs alone. That'll need 150 new battery factories + $116B in investments by 2030 to avoid shortages.

Bottleneck alert: China controls most processing, but the US and EU are racing to build domestic capacity. Direct lithium extraction tech (looking at you, Rio Tinto + Argentina) could be a game-changer. The supply chain restructuring this decade? Absolutely critical.