Lithium (Li) is a critical element for the global green energy transition, and the growing demand necessitates the discovery of new, economically viable Li resources. Beyond traditional assay results, a comprehensive understanding of deposit characteristics-including grade, size, mineral deportment, grain size, and mineral associations-is essential to advance a prospect to a mineable resource. However, these parameters are often derived from small sample suites analysed using laboratory-based scanning instruments (eg SEM, XRF) that do not directly measure Li. Such limited and high-cost data sets are then used to inform ore processing strategies, introducing considerable risk to resource development. Recent advancements in mobile laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) offer transformative potential for lithium exploration. LIBS enables rapid, high-resolution chemical mapping of drill core, including direct measurement of Li, using containerised, mine-deployable instruments. For example, LIBS can scan a 2 cm-wide strip at 250 um resolution in approximately 5 mins per metre, making it a powerful tool for generating mine-scale mineralogical models in near real-time. In this study, we demonstrate the application of LIBS for characterising lithium-bearing minerals such as cookeite, spodumene, lepidolite, and Li-rich muscovite. Our results show that LIBS can effectively detect and quantify Li, perform grain size and textural analysis, generate in situ lithium and mineral phase maps, and reveal Li enrichment processes. The ability to rapidly acquire low-cost, spatially resolved geochemical data under ambient conditions makes LIBS particularly well-suited for field- based exploration, prospect evaluation, and quality control in lithium mining operations. LIBS has the potential to revolutionise lithium exploration by providing a fast, efficient, and cost- effective alternative to traditional geochemical and mineralogical techniques-bridging the gap between lab-based analysis and real-world decision-making in the critical minerals sector.