Global pegmatite-hosted lithium, cesium, and rubidium resources: A dataset for grade and tonnage modeling

Ore Geology Reviews
By: , and 

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Abstract

Quantitative mineral resource assessments of potential undiscovered deposits can inform future mineral supply scenarios, but their accuracy is conditional on building robust grade and tonnage models of known deposits. This study presents an up-to-date global compilation and analysis of recently discovered and original, in-situ pegmatite-hosted Li, Cs, and Rb resources prior to historic production. Our analysis yields a median tonnage of 21.2 million tons (Mt) and grade of 1.12% Li2O, respectively, for global Li pegmatite deposits (n = 73). The grades and tonnages of Li pegmatite resources vary depending on the age of the bedrock host domain, pegmatite crystallization age, and primary ore mineralogy. Lithium pegmatite resources hosted in Archean to transitional Archean-Paleoproterozoic domains have the largest median tonnage (29.8 Mt; n = 38), and those hosted in Paleoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic domains have smaller median tonnages (6.5 Mt; n = 16). Cesium deposits where pollucite is the primary ore mineral have a bimodal grade distribution, with modes of 2.40 and 0.035 wt% Cs2O for high- and low-grade deposits, respectively, while Rb deposits are more unimodal with a median grade of 0.247 wt% Rb2O. Pegmatite-hosted Cs and Rb resources have median tonnages of 7.6 and 6.3 Mt, respectively. Covariation between ore mineralogy and the degree of crustal enrichment in pegmatite-hosted deposits is diagnostic of petrogenetic differences, including melt source characteristics, magma evolution, or variable degrees of volatile solubility. The Li pegmatite compilation is suitable for fitting robust numerical models to support quantitative assessments. More well-defined Rb and Cs pegmatite resources are required for quantitative assessments, but these data provide useful information about original in-place resources for framing supply discussions.

Suggested Citation

Rosera, J.M., McCaffrey, D.M., and Wintzer, N.E., 2026, Global pegmatite-hosted lithium, cesium, and rubidium resources: A dataset for grade and tonnage modeling: Ore Geology Reviews, v. 194, 107360, 16 p., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2026.107360.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Global pegmatite-hosted lithium, cesium, and rubidium resources: A dataset for grade and tonnage modeling
Series title Ore Geology Reviews
DOI 10.1016/j.oregeorev.2026.107360
Volume 194
Publication Date June 04, 2026
Year Published 2026
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Contributing office(s) Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center
Description 107360, 16 p.
Additional publication details