The surge in global demand for lithium, largely driven by the rapid advancement of lithium-ion battery technologies for electric vehicles (EVs) and portable electronics, has intensified activities related to the exploration, mining, beneficiation, and extraction of lithium-bearing ores. To ensure efficient processing, detailed characterization of these ores is indispensable for the selection of suitable unit operations and overall process optimization. This characterization relies on a combination of analytical techniques, including X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS), Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Derivative Thermogravimetry (DTG), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The critical roles of comminution, work index, and liberation size determinations could have significant effects on the whole process design. Similarly, the need to understand the beneficiation and extraction mechanisms will enable process optimization, thereby, addressing challenges that may arise in the recovery of lithium products, most especially, the sequence of process route development. Meanwhile, drawbacks established from existing methods require crucial attention to eliminate high costs and toxic substances from lithium ores processing and lithium carbonate production. This review work summarises and highlights the process route associated with lithium recovery from lithium ores with the overall aim of exploring alternative avenues to reduce and eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks.