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Li

Lithium

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Lithium is one of the lightest alkali metals and highly reactive elements. Its name is derived from Greek word “lithos”, which means stone. It is extracted from two main sources i.e., ore mining and salt deserts. Australia is the main source of ore mined lithium, while Chile and Argentina are well known for salt deserts or salaras.

The majority of the world’s lithium is extracted from brine sources, which are found below lakes of high-altitude salt flats. The extraction of lithium involves drilling a hole and pumping brine to the surface with the help of water. The mixture is then left for many months for evaporation. The mixture is then distilled to extract lithium after 12 to 18 months.

The lithium demand has hit record levels in the past few years, and the two key contributors to this rise in demand are:

· An uptrend in digital technology coupled with smart technologies, which are integrated with lithium-ion batteries (LIBs).

· A surge in green energy usage and electric vehicles’ usage.

Lithium mining is often criticised for using excessive water and creating drought-like situations in various parts of the world.

Lithium and its compounds are predominantly extracted from hard rock sources and brine deposits. Historically, hard rock sources were mined but since the 1990s, brine deposits have been used to produce lithium on a commercial scale. Most of the existing lithium supply comes from hard rock mineral, spodumene, which is found in Australia and the United States, or is being extracted from brine solutions from salars in South America.

Lithium concentration in brine solutions is increased by solar evaporation in ponds. The evaporation process is a time-consuming one and could take up to one-and-a-half years to concentrate the solution to 6% Li content. Thereafter, the brine solution is used to produce high-value lithium compounds, including lithium chloride, lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide.

With disruptions in the cobalt supply chain, automobile makers are switching to low-cobalt battery chemistries. Low-cobalt cathodes for lithium batteries are anticipated to utilise lithium hydroxide instead of lithium carbonate as a feedstock. Seawater contains over 0.2 parts per million lithium. Some scientists have proposed electrolysis to recover lithium compounds from seawater, but it is not yet commercially viable.

Code Company Price Chg %Chg High Low Volume Market Cap
A8G Australasian Metals Limited 0.070 0.000 0.000 0.070 0.070 1000 4.052 M
ADV Ardiden Ltd 0.145 0.000 0.000 0.145 0.145 3517 9.065 M
AGY Argosy Minerals Ltd 0.019 0.001 5.556 0.019 0.018 726004 26.207 M
AMD Arrow Minerals Ltd 0.024 0.000 0.000 0.025 0.024 634882 19.641 M
ASN Anson Resources Ltd 0.056 0.001 1.818 0.056 0.054 246843 77.657 M
AVL Australian Vanadium Ltd 0.010 -0.001 -9.091 0.011 0.010 2954476 94.981 M
BMG BMG Resources Ltd 0.011 0.000 0.000 0.011 0.011 51249 8.384 M
BNZ Benz Mining Corp 0.410 0.020 5.128 0.412 0.390 342858 78.675 M
BOA Boadicea Resources Ltd 0.019 0.000 0.000 0.019 0.019 1473 2.220 M
CUL Cullen Resources Ltd 0.004 0.000 0.000 0.004 0.004 100000 2.080 M
CXO Core Lithium Ltd 0.071 0.002 2.899 0.073 0.070 6853142 145.725 M
DEG De Grey Mining Ltd 2.460 0.000 0.000 2.460 2.460 -- 6,330.931 M
DEV DevEx Resources Ltd 0.080 0.000 0.000 0.080 0.077 7001 30.918 M
DTM Dart Mining NL 0.004 0.000 0.000 0.004 0.004 -- 2.751 M
EMH European Metals Holdings 0.230 0.005 2.222 0.235 0.230 203543 47.640 M
EUR European Lithium Limited 0.053 -0.002 -3.636 0.057 0.053 165779 78.040 M
GL1 Global Lithium Resources Ltd 0.165 0.000 0.000 0.165 0.165 57641 43.186 M
GLN Galan Lithium Ltd 0.105 -0.005 -4.546 0.107 0.105 338384 88.201 M
HWK Hawk Resources Limited 0.019 0.000 0.000 0.019 0.019 250000 5.234 M
INF Infinity Lithium Corporation Ltd 0.020 0.000 0.000 0.020 0.020 -- 8.979 M
INR ioneer Ltd 0.130 -0.005 -3.704 0.135 0.130 1631288 329.794 M
KOR Korab Resources Ltd 0.008 0.000 0.000 0.008 0.008 -- 2.936 M
KTA Krakatoa Resources Ltd 0.008 -0.002 -20.000 0.008 0.008 204808 5.581 M
LIS LiS Energy Ltd 0.102 -0.003 -2.857 0.105 0.100 315836 67.221 M
LIT Lithium Australia NL 0.009 0.000 0.000 0.010 0.009 6354179 15.107 M
LKE Lake Resources NL 0.035 0.003 9.375 0.036 0.032 5857095 58.785 M
LNR Lanthanein Resources Limited 0.002 0.000 0.000 0.002 0.002 -- 4.887 M
LPD Lepidico Ltd 0.002 0.000 0.000 0.002 0.002 -- 17.178 M
LTR Liontown Resources Ltd 0.567 0.007 1.250 0.585 0.565 6835365 1,298.697 M
MIN Mineral Resources Ltd 18.150 0.940 5.462 18.360 17.500 1347666 3,340.823 M
MLS Metals Australia Ltd 0.021 0.000 0.000 0.021 0.020 100000 14.574 M
MQR Marquee Resources Ltd 0.010 0.000 0.000 0.010 0.010 261073 5.826 M
NMT Neometals Ltd 0.058 0.002 3.571 0.058 0.055 277145 43.857 M
NVA Nova Minerals Ltd 0.345 0.030 9.524 0.345 0.320 321912 103.604 M
PLL Piedmont Lithium Ltd 0.112 0.002 1.818 0.120 0.110 1308673 237.906 M
PLS Pilbara Minerals Ltd 1.477 0.017 1.164 1.505 1.465 10831097 4,601.640 M
PNN Power Minerals Ltd 0.072 0.000 0.000 0.072 0.067 223985 7.970 M
PSC Prospect Resources Ltd 0.147 0.002 1.379 0.150 0.145 782846 85.899 M
RIO Rio Tinto Ltd 114.880 1.050 0.922 115.400 114.500 636491 181,273.690 M
RLC Reedy Lagoon Corporation Ltd 0.002 0.000 0.000 0.002 0.002 501000 1.553 M
SRK Strike Resources Ltd 0.039 0.011 39.286 0.039 0.032 359551 7.945 M
SYA Sayona Mining Ltd 0.018 0.000 0.000 0.019 0.018 21701563 207.779 M
TAR Taruga Gold Ltd 0.010 0.000 0.000 0.011 0.010 1346938 6.354 M
TEM Tempest Minerals Ltd 0.004 0.000 0.000 0.004 0.004 3123021 2.538 M
TKL Traka Resources Ltd 0.002 0.001 100.000 0.002 0.002 848136 2.126 M
VMC Venus Metals Corporation Ltd 0.105 -0.005 -4.546 0.105 0.105 16572 19.417 M
VUL Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd 4.620 -0.110 -2.326 4.675 4.550 365878 985.615 M
ZNC Zenith Minerals Ltd 0.048 -0.001 -2.041 0.048 0.048 433 20.372 M
* Data powered by EODHD®. Data delayed 20 minutes unless otherwise indicated.

Frequently Asked Questions

Most prominently, lithium is used to manufacture rechargeable batteries for mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras and electric vehicles. Additionally, it is used in ceramics, glasses, alloys, lubrication and medicine.

The top three lithium-producing nations are Australia, Chile and China. Collectively, these three countries accounted for over 86% of the global lithium production in 2020 with Australia accounting for over half of the global lithium supply.With the burgeoning demand for electric vehicles, lithium’s demand is expected to grow rapidly in this decade.

The lithium price continues to grow as the demand for EVs exceeds supply due to material and refinery bottlenecks. However, lithium is not a scarce mineral. It is the 33rd most widely available element on the earth and is spread across in trace amounts in seawater, soils, rocks, surface and groundwater.

 

China, Chile, and Australia hold the world’s largest reserves. Almost 63% of the global reserves are found within the lithium triangle, a region shared by Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile. Furthermore, Central and Latin American countries such as Mexico and Peru hold more than three million tonnes of lithium in reserves.

The global market for alkali metal-lithium is growing rapidly. The period between 2008 and 2018 alone saw annual production in the major producing countries rise multifold. Lithium’s usage in EV batteries has been an important source of demand growth. Lithium is also used in laptop and cell phone batteries, as well as in the glass and ceramics industry

Lithium occurs in predominantly two categories, hard rock sources, specially spodumene (Li2O.Al2O3.4SiO2), and salts, consisting of lithium-rich brines. Australia is among the leading producer of lithium from hard rock sources, while lithium in brines is produced in Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, China and the US.

 

Lithium’s supply from Australia is sourced from its current resources and mines that mostly produce spodumene along with other lithium-based minerals such as lepidolite. These minerals usually have an average grade of 1% to 3% Li2O and are associated with tin and tantalum mineralisation.

 

Almost all of the Australian resources are linked to granite pegmatites of the Archean age with major lithium deposits located within the Yilgarn Craton and Pilbara region of Western Australia. Currently, the lithium global output is estimated to rise to 944,000 tonnes by 2024. The rapid growth will be met by increased output from Australia, Chile and Argentina. The current mining and brine supply is insufficient to meet the burgeoning demand for lithium.

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