The facility, situated in the embattled Xinjiang region, will process three million tons of precious metals annually

Officials in Yichun, known as Asia’s lithium capital, said last week they were cracking down on illegal mining – news that comes amid a big drop in the price of lithium, which could last for some time

The discovery comes at a time when India is looking to strengthen its supply of critical minerals that will be crucial for furthering its electric vehicle plans

Chinese battery giant CATL is part of a consortium picked to help the South American country develop its huge lithium reserves

Abnormal water quality has prompted concerns over the lithium being produced in the region, SCMP said

Lake uses an extraction technology developed by Lilac Solutions known as direct lithium extraction but J Capital Research criticised its claim to be cleaner

Tianqi Lithium shares started trading at HK$74.50 ($9.49) each before bouncing back to its debut price of HK$82 - in a recovery important for the group and the Hong Kong Exchange