Lithium prices have tripled since the beginning of the year, unlike other industrial metals, which have sagged due to the threat of a global recession, Izvestia reported.

From 2019 to 2022, total consumption of lithium, which the publication calls the most valuable metal of the year, soared 2.1 times, to 670,000 tons of carbonate - none of the other commodities recorded such a jump. In the coming years, mines with a total capacity of up to 600 thousand tons could be put into operation, which is a little less than the current production level.