Chinese regulators have yanked the environmental permit for CATL‘s Jianxiawo mine, China’s largest lithium operation, forcing it back into care and maintenance just weeks after it briefly resumed output.
Benchmark Mineral Intelligence had penciled in 62,500 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent for the mine’s 2026 output. Now it expects barely half that at just 32,000 tonnes. Their 2027 forecast, at 99,000 tonnes, remains the same.
CATL tried to quietly resume mining in July while a tailings pond dispute remained unresolved. The backlash was swift — over 70 complaints landed with regulators, who put the company back at square one on its environmental review. Benchmark’s satellite tracking put the mine back at work in June, only for activity to cut out again in early August.
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New Chinese rules on how minerals get classified cost Jianxiawo its license in August 2025, when its lithium-bearing clay deposit stopped qualifying under the old standard. Speculation about a restart later rattled lithium futures in China in June 2026, after a preliminary government land assessment surfaced.
A safety production permit came through for CATL that same month, though local officials wouldn’t budge on the environmental paperwork before signing off on a full restart.
The mine can produce close to 150,000 tonnes a year at full tilt, which is why a review dragging into 2027 matters for a lithium market that’s already tightening as battery-storage and EV demand pick up.
The same scrutiny is spreading to other mines in Jiangxi, together expected to add about 108,000 tonnes this year — any tailings problems regulators find there could squeeze supply further.
