The CATL logo at the Beijing Auto Show venue in April 2026. Credit: CnEVPost
- All production-related certificates are now in hand, a person close to CATL said.
- Some local residents who work at the mine have started training to prepare for the return to work.
CATL’s (HKEX: 3750) Jianxiawo lithium mine in Yichun, Jiangxi, has cleared the final hurdle to resume production.
A person close to CATL told National Business Daily on Monday that all production-related certificates are now in hand.
“The most critical safety production permit was obtained today,” the person said.
The mine had already made progress across several certificate approval stages, with the safety production permit being the last key threshold before resuming production.
Various signs indicate the mine is preparing for a restart. Some local residents who work at the mine have started training to prepare for the return to work, according to the report.
On June 28, an investor photographed electric mining trucks transported by large flatbed trailers parked at the entrance of the Jianxiawo mine.
National Business Daily reporters visited the mine in person on June 24 and 25.
The Jianxiawo lithium mine is a key resource project for CATL. The company suspended production at the mine on August 10 last year after a key mining permit expired on August 9, 2025.
The suspension once pushed up lithium carbonate prices in China, providing a brief boost to a lithium industry long plagued by overcapacity.
Since then, CATL has gradually advanced the various approvals needed to resume production.
The mine received approval for its reserve report at the end of September last year, and was subsequently told the mining rights fees it should pay.
Last December, local media cited people familiar with the matter as reporting that the mine was expected to resume production around the Spring Festival in February. But that did not materialize.
Lithium is one of the key raw materials for batteries, and batteries typically account for a large portion of the cost of an electric vehicle (EV).
Lithium carbonate and iron phosphate are the main raw materials for lithium iron phosphate (LFP). Yichun, located in Jiangxi province, is a lithium production hub often called Asia’s lithium capital.
CATL is the world’s largest power battery supplier, with a global share of 40.1% in January-April, according to South Korean research firm SNE Research.
As lithium prices have risen over the past year, CATL has stepped up its bet on sodium-ion batteries.
Ni Jun, chief manufacturing officer of the Chinese power battery giant, said in a Bloomberg Television interview on June 24 that 10,000 to 20,000 EVs will be equipped with the company’s sodium-ion batteries this year.
CATL plans to invest 5 billion yuan ($735 million) to build 40 GWh of sodium-ion battery capacity in Fujian.
