Previous studies of the availability of lithium for use in batteries to power electric vehicles (EVs) have reached the generally encouraging conclusion that resources are sufficient to meet growing demand for the remainder of the 21st century. However, these surveys have not looked past estimates of lithium resource to the geological constraints on deposit size and composition that will allow the resources to be converted to reserves from which lithium can be produced economically. In this survey, we review the relevant geological features of the best characterized pegmatite, brine and other types of lithium deposits and compare their potential for large-scale, long-term production. The comparison shows that the average brine deposit (1.45 Mt Li) is more than an order of magnitude larger than the average pegmatite deposit (0.11 Mt Li) and that brine deposits, especially the large Atacama (Chile) and Uyuni (Bolivia) deposits, have a much larger total lithium resource (21.6 Mt Li).