It’s a time when resources are both weapons and measures of national power. Lithium is in the spotlight because it is a key mineral for the secondary battery industry. South Korea’s battery industry imports almost all of its lithium hydroxide, which is used to make battery cathodes, from China. Last year, South Korea’s battery industry spent $3.23 billion (about 4.3 trillion won) to import lithium hydroxide from China. Meanwhile, the Korean company “Terra Science” announced that it has discovered the first lithium salt...