MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. Russia discovered new reserves of lithium, an indispensable component of the high-tech industry, for the first time in more than twenty years in 2025, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev said.

"Incremental growth of indicators for some rare metals was provided. For the first time in more than 20 years, new reserves of lithium, the indispensable component of the high-tech industry, were discovered. This is critical from the standpoint of supporting the resource independence of our country and that is why the achieved pace should certainly be maintained," the official said.

Booked reserves amount to 3.5 mln metric tons of lithium oxide, which is sufficient to meet needs of the Russian economy, the Ministry of Natural Resources said in February.