Qarhan salt lake (Qinghai Salt Lake Industry): a lithium operation in China
Qarhan salt lake (Qinghai Salt Lake Industry) is a brine operation producing lithium in Qarhan, Golmud, Qinghai province, China, operated by Qinghai Salt Lake Industry. The sources report 46,543.00 tonnes lithium carbonate (company production volume) for CY2025; the basis is 100% consolidated company production (includes the 51.42%-owned Lanke Lithium). In lithium content, whole-operation output for CY2025 is about 8,700 tonnes (derived here, not printed by the source): about 3% of world lithium output in 2025 and about 14% of China's; it is one of 8 operations on this site whose output can be stated in lithium content.
Who owns and operates it?
| Owner | Interest | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Qinghai Salt Lake Industry | 100% | 31 December 2025 |
How much does it produce?
| Period | Output | Basis | Where in the source |
|---|---|---|---|
| CY2025 | 46,543.00 tonnes lithium carbonate (company production volume) | 100% consolidated company production (includes the 51.42%-owned Lanke Lithium) | PDF p.29, sales/production/inventory table, 'Lithium carbonate manufacturing - production volume'; MD&A PDF p.26 · Qinghai Salt Lake Industry Co., Ltd. (cninfo / SZSE, 31 Mar 2026) |
| CY2024 | 40,002.00 tonnes lithium carbonate | 100% consolidated | PDF p.29, same table, 2024 column · Qinghai Salt Lake Industry Co., Ltd. (cninfo / SZSE, 31 Mar 2026) |
How the lithium-content figure is worked out. 46,543 tonnes of lithium carbonate times 0.1878 tonnes of lithium per tonne of carbonate (the factor Albemarle states in its 10-K) is about 8,700 tonnes of lithium. World mine production of lithium in 2025 was 290,000 tonnes (USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026); China produced 62,000 tonnes.
Status: operating, as of 31 March 2026.
- The figure is the company's total lithium carbonate output, which includes its 51.42%-owned Lanke Lithium, shown here as one line.
How does it compare?
Other lithium operations on this site: Greenbushes, Pilgangoora, Wodgina, Kathleen Valley, Salar de Atacama (SQM), Salar de Atacama (Albemarle), Cauchari-Olaroz, Goulamina. See where lithium comes from for the country totals, the country page for China, and Qinghai Salt Lake Industry for its other operations here.
Sources
- Qinghai Salt Lake Industry Co., Ltd. (cninfo / SZSE, 31 Mar 2026): 2025 Annual Report (Chinese) (annual report, CY2025). Opened 3 November 2026; used: 5, 7, 8, 12, 26, 29, 33, 168-169.
- U.S. Geological Survey: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Lithium (government statistical summary, 2025 (world and country mine production)). Opened 3 November 2026; used: world and country mine production table.
Method and limits
- Reported, not estimated. Output is the figure the operator or owner published, in the unit it used. This site does not estimate output where none is published.
- Shares. A share divides output in lithium content by the USGS world or country total for 2025. Where the operator's year is a fiscal year or the unit is a concentrate or a carbonate equivalent, the share is approximate or not given.
- Whole operation or owner's share. The basis column says which. A joint venture's output is never counted twice.
- Partial list. Only operations with a published figure are listed, so the rank is among those on this site, not among every lithium mine. Shares of a country's output mix periods and bases, so treat them as indicative.
- Made with AI assistance, checked against sources. The facts were gathered from the documents above by AI-assisted research and re-checked against those documents by a second, independent pass; the page text is generated from the data. No professional review took place. How the site is made. To report an error, contact us; fixes are logged on the corrections page.