Australian Lithium Mines: Owners, Output and World Rank

Australia has nine hard-rock lithium mines that matter: eight in Western Australia and one, Finniss, in the Northern Territory. Australian lithium mines were the world’s largest source in 2025, with about 92,000 tonnes of contained lithium out of a world total of about 290,000 tonnes, or roughly 32% (USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026). Greenbushes is the largest, at 1.41 million tonnes of concentrate in the year to June 2026 (IGO, July 2026).

This page lists each mine with its state, owner, status and latest output. It then shows who the producing companies are, how Australia ranks against other lithium countries, and how to convert the mixed tonnages companies publish into one basis. A short section covers the world’s copper producers, because readers comparing battery-metal supply often want both.

Two terms come up throughout. Spodumene is the lithium-bearing mineral in pegmatite, a coarse-grained igneous rock. Concentrate is the saleable powder a mine makes by crushing and separating that rock; it still has to go through a chemical plant before it can be used in a battery.

Australian lithium mines: the full list

The table is ordered by the latest full-year volume each operator reports. FY26 means the Australian financial year to 30 June 2026. Bases differ, so use the volumes for scale. The calculator further down puts any of them on one basis.

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Latest full-year volume by mine

Thousand tonnes, FY26; bases differ, use for scale

SC6 means concentrate converted to a 6% lithium oxide (Li2O) grade. A kt is a thousand tonnes. Care and maintenance means the site is switched off but kept ready to restart. Geoscience Australia counted seven operating lithium mines in its 2026 preliminary tables. Its table gives only the count, not the names, so it will not match this list of nine sites one for one.

For the state view with royalty rules and the official map files, see our list of lithium mines in Western Australia. For pros, cons and a “best for” line on each mine, see the spodumene producers comparison.

Where the mines are, state by state

Western Australia holds almost all national output, and its mines fall into distinct districts. A consultant planning site visits or screening nearby ground will find this grouping more useful than the ranking.

South West: Greenbushes

Greenbushes lies about 250 km south of Perth (Geoscience Australia). IGO reports FY26 output of 1,410 kt at a cash cost of A$415 a tonne, and FY27 guidance of 1,550 to 1,750 kt. A June 2026 fire stopped its newest plant for about seven weeks. IGO holds a 24.99% indirect interest and does not operate the mine; Talison does.

Pilbara: Pilgangoora and Wodgina

PLS Group, formerly Pilbara Minerals, produced a record 879.5 kt at Pilgangoora in FY26, up 17% on 754.6 kt the year before (PLS, July 2026). Wodgina, operated by Mineral Resources, sold a record 317 kt on an SC6 basis at an FOB cost of A$738 a tonne (Mineral Resources, July 2026). FOB is the cost with the cargo loaded at the Australian port, before sea freight.

Goldfields: Mt Marion, Kathleen Valley and Bald Hill

Mt Marion sold a record 242 kt SC6 in FY26, and its owners approved A$490 million (100% basis) in May 2026 for a flotation plant and underground mining. Bald Hill made first concentrate in June 2026 after care and maintenance from December 2024. Liontown’s Kathleen Valley, north of Leinster, produced 392 kt in FY26 and is now fully underground (Liontown, August 2026).

Wheatbelt and south coast: Mt Holland and Mt Cattlin

Mt Holland is run by Covalent Lithium. Its owners approved a second concentrator in July 2026 that lifts nameplate capacity from about 380,000 to 760,000 tonnes a year, with first expansion volumes expected in the first half of 2030 (International Mining, July 2026). Wesfarmers reported 209 kt of concentrate for its half share in FY26, up from 145 kt (Wesfarmers, August 2026). Mt Cattlin, near Ravensthorpe, was wound down to mid-2025 (DMPE Statistics Digest 2024-25).

Northern Territory: Finniss

Finniss, near Darwin, is the one mine on this list outside Western Australia. Core Lithium began open-pit mining at Grants in the June 2026 quarter and started underground development at BP33 (Core Lithium, July 2026). It made first concentrate in September 2026 and targets a first shipment of new product in the December 2026 quarter (Core Lithium Annual Report 2026).

Top Australian lithium producers by company

Output and ownership rarely line up neatly, because most large mines are joint ventures. This table shows which listed company stands behind which mine. It is a list of facts, not a recommendation.

Ownership changes often, so check the latest filing before relying on any line. One deal is pending: POSCO agreed to buy 30% of Mineral Resources’ 50% holdings in Wodgina and Mt Marion, due to complete in the first half of FY27, subject to conditions. Our page on Australian listed lithium companies goes deeper on the ASX names, and a separate one covers US lithium producers.

How Australia ranks among lithium producing countries

On mine output, Australia leads. USGS estimates for 2025 put China second at 62,000 tonnes and Chile third at 56,000 tonnes. Zimbabwe follows at 28,000 and Argentina at 23,000. All figures are contained lithium. The US figure is withheld to protect company data, and Bolivia has no entry in the production table despite holding 23 million tonnes of resources.

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Lithium mine output by country

Thousand tonnes of contained lithium; selected countries

Australia’s lead is narrowing even as its tonnage grows. Output rose from 82,700 to 92,000 tonnes, while China rose by about 50% and Mali went from 770 to 9,400 tonnes after two new operations started in 2024 (USGS, 2026).

Shares are our arithmetic on the USGS world total of 290,000 tonnes, an estimate.

Why other sources give different Australian figures

Geoscience Australia gives Australian output as 118 kt of lithium and a 38% world share, with first place for both production and resources (25% of world economic resources, 9,578 kt). It estimates lithium by assuming spodumene concentrate grades 6% Li2O, and it uses a larger world total of 314 kt. USGS gives 92 kt of 290 kt. Neither figure is wrong; they rest on different assumptions, so quote one source and its basis rather than mixing them. Geoscience Australia’s preliminary tables also report ore reserves of 4,586 kt of lithium at operating mines.

Mined lithium versus refined lithium

A mine ranking does not show who makes battery chemicals. Most Australian concentrate leaves the country: in 2024-25, 94% of Western Australia’s spodumene exports went to China, with South Korea at 3% and Indonesia at 2% (DMPE, 2024-25). Chemical plants there convert it to lithium hydroxide or carbonate.

Australian refining is small by comparison. IGO’s 2026 annual report records 8,839 tonnes of lithium hydroxide from its Kwinana joint-venture plant in FY26. Covalent’s own Kwinana refinery made its first hydroxide in August 2025 (DMPE, 2024-25).

Lithium prices and what they did to Australian mines

Price drives which mines run. Western Australia’s lithium sales fell from a record A$21.5 billion in 2022-23 to A$8.5 billion in 2023-24 and A$4.3 billion in 2024-25, even as the state sold a record 3.85 million tonnes of concentrate (DMPE, 2024-25). The slump idled Bald Hill, the Ngungaju plant and Mt Cattlin.

▶ The environmental impacts of mining, explained. · 2:31

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Western Australia lithium sales

A$ billion, financial years

Prices recovered in 2026, which brought the restarts, then fell back. Spodumene concentrate (FOB Australia) ended the third quarter at US$1,780 a tonne, down 23.5% on the quarter, on Benchmark data reported by Investing News Network in October 2026. Lithium carbonate in China stood at 91,700 yuan a tonne on 5 November 2026 (Trading Economics). For demand and supply scenarios, see our lithium demand forecast.

Convert concentrate tonnes to contained lithium

Companies report dry tonnes of mixed grade, SC6 tonnes, or a share of a joint venture. National statistics report contained lithium. The calculator below links them, so you can compare any mine with the country table. Lithium oxide is 46.45% lithium by mass, and one tonne of lithium equals about 5.32 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE).

What to check before relying on a mine or tenement near one

1. Confirm tenure and status in the state system. Western Australia’s MINEDEX database lists operating status, location and resources.
2. Read the output basis: produced or sold, 100% or attributable, SC6 or mixed grade.
3. Check the date of the last company report. Restarts and care-and-maintenance decisions move quickly with price.
4. Look for spodumene in fresh pegmatite, not just a pegmatite outcrop. Not every pegmatite carries lithium, so sampling and drilling remain the test.
5. Note projects still in transition. Global Lithium agreed in September 2026 to be bought by a unit of Titan Lithium Group, a deal centred on the undeveloped Manna project in Western Australia (Investing News Network, October 2026).

Satellite imagery can help a consultant map exposed rock and disturbance around a tenement before a field trip. Results are exploration targets that sit ahead of a resource estimate. Farmonaut also offers carbon footprint monitoring, fleet management, traceability and developer APIs for site operators.

▶ How mineral exploration from space narrows where to drill. · 4:26

World’s leading copper producers

Chile is the largest copper mine producer, at an estimated 5.3 million tonnes in 2025, or 23% of the world’s 23 million tonnes. Congo (Kinshasa) follows at 3.2 million and Peru at 2.7 million (USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026). Australia mined 730,000 tonnes and holds reserves of about 100 million tonnes, second to Chile among the countries USGS names.

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Copper mine production

Million tonnes of copper, 2025 estimate; selected countries

The mined-versus-refined gap is wider for copper than for lithium. China mined about 1.8 million tonnes but refined 14 million, close to half of the 29 million tonne world total (USGS, 2026). Refined tonnage includes metal from imported concentrate, so a “top copper producer” list depends on which column it uses.

▶ How copper mining connects to electric vehicles. · 6:03

Frequently asked questions

How many lithium mines are there in Australia?

Geoscience Australia counted seven operating lithium mines in its 2026 preliminary tables. This page lists nine sites: six running through FY26, Bald Hill and Finniss which restarted in 2026, and Mt Cattlin, which is idle.

What is the largest lithium mine in Australia?

Greenbushes in Western Australia, with 1,410 kt of concentrate in the year to June 2026 on a 100% basis (IGO, July 2026). Pilgangoora is next at 879.5 kt (PLS, July 2026).

Where are Australia’s lithium mines located?

Eight are in Western Australia, across the South West, Pilbara, Goldfields, Wheatbelt and south coast. Finniss is in the Northern Territory, near Darwin.

Which companies mine lithium in Australia?

The main operators are Talison (Greenbushes), PLS Group, Mineral Resources, Liontown, Covalent Lithium and Core Lithium. Albemarle, Tianqi, IGO, Wesfarmers, SQM and Ganfeng hold stakes.

Is Australia the world’s largest lithium producer?

Yes, on mine output: about 92,000 of 290,000 tonnes of contained lithium in 2025 (USGS, 2026). China is larger in refining and chemical conversion of the concentrate it imports.

Does Australia produce brine lithium?

The mines on this list are all hard-rock spodumene operations. Brine production is centred in Chile and Argentina, where lithium is drawn from salt flats.

Who buys Australian lithium?

China dominates. It took 94% of Western Australia’s spodumene exports in 2024-25, ahead of South Korea and Indonesia (DMPE, 2024-25).

Why are some Australian lithium mines closed?

The price fall after late 2022 made some sites uneconomic. Spodumene fell from more than A$9,200 a tonne to an average A$940 in June 2025 (DMPE, 2024-25). Several have restarted since; Mt Cattlin remains on care and maintenance.

Who is the largest copper producer in the world?

Chile on mine output, at about 5.3 million tonnes in 2025, and China on refined output, at about 14 million tonnes (USGS, 2026).

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