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	A8G Australasian Metals Limited	0.077	0.000	0.000	0.077	0.077	10569	4.170 M
ADV	ADV Ardiden Ltd	0.130	-0.005	-3.704	0.130	0.130	40165	8.753 M
AGY	AGY Argosy Minerals Ltd	0.028	0.000	0.000	0.029	0.028	391408	40.766 M
AMD	AMD Arrow Minerals Ltd	0.002	0.000	0.000	0.002	0.002	4692314	26.447 M
ASN	ASN Anson Resources Ltd	0.056	0.000	0.000	0.056	0.055	1367354	76.156 M
AVL	AVL Australian Vanadium Ltd	0.012	0.000	0.000	0.013	0.012	961034	112.251 M
BMG	BMG BMG Resources Ltd	0.011	-0.001	-8.333	0.012	0.011	24280676	9.094 M
BNZ	BNZ Benz Mining Corp	0.330	-0.015	-4.348	0.350	0.330	147724	55.816 M
BOA	BOA Boadicea Resources Ltd	0.020	0.000	0.000	0.020	0.020	12267	2.467 M
CUL	CUL Cullen Resources Ltd	0.004	-0.001	-20.000	0.004	0.004	5471073	2.774 M
CXO	CXO Core Lithium Ltd	0.080	-0.002	-2.439	0.083	0.079	10099613	186.443 M
DEG	DEG De Grey Mining Ltd	1.790	-0.045	-2.452	1.810	1.750	12480542	4,678.476 M
DEV	DEV DevEx Resources Ltd	0.091	0.002	2.247	0.091	0.087	130586	43.727 M
DTM	DTM Dart Mining NL	0.010	0.000	0.000	0.010	0.010	1788496	6.579 M
EMH	EMH European Metals Holdings	0.150	-0.010	-6.250	0.150	0.150	8447	31.185 M
EUR	EUR European Lithium Limited	0.035	0.000	0.000	0.035	0.034	419805	62.143 M
GL1	GL1 Global Lithium Resources Ltd	0.170	-0.010	-5.556	0.190	0.170	355357	50.815 M
GLN	GLN Galan Lithium Ltd	0.115	0.000	0.000	0.120	0.110	4922099	91.737 M
INF	INF Infinity Lithium Corporation Ltd	0.024	-0.001	-4.000	0.026	0.024	298769	12.027 M
INR	INR ioneer Ltd	0.140	-0.010	-6.667	0.150	0.140	3120902	385.795 M
KOR	KOR Korab Resources Ltd	0.008	0.000	0.000	0.008	0.008	--	2.936 M
KTA	KTA Krakatoa Resources Ltd	0.010	0.000	0.000	0.010	0.010	49553	4.721 M
LIS	LIS LiS Energy Ltd	0.150	0.000	0.000	0.150	0.145	23361	96.030 M
LIT	LIT Lithium Australia NL	0.017	0.000	0.000	0.017	0.017	1134885	22.667 M
LKE	LKE Lake Resources NL	0.040	-0.001	-2.439	0.042	0.040	2048108	70.967 M
LNR	LNR Lanthanein Resources Limited	0.003	0.000	0.000	0.003	0.003	889500	7.331 M
LPD	LPD Lepidico Ltd	0.002	0.000	0.000	0.002	0.002	--	17.178 M
LRS	LRS Latin Resources Ltd	0.145	-0.010	-6.452	0.150	0.142	25078181	462.894 M
LTR	LTR Liontown Resources Ltd	0.540	-0.010	-1.818	0.540	0.525	12136423	1,509.134 M
MIN	MIN Mineral Resources Ltd	33.030	-1.370	-3.983	33.250	32.620	2419102	6,868.340 M
MLS	MLS Metals Australia Ltd	0.021	0.000	0.000	0.021	0.021	302630	15.999 M
MQR	MQR Marquee Resources Ltd	0.015	0.000	0.000	0.015	0.015	170342	6.662 M
NMT	NMT Neometals Ltd	0.070	-0.003	-4.110	0.075	0.070	764641	53.860 M
NVA	NVA Nova Minerals Ltd	0.280	0.005	1.818	0.290	0.275	319591	76.924 M
PLL	PLL Piedmont Lithium Ltd	0.140	-0.015	-9.677	0.150	0.140	4968032	394.926 M
PLS	PLS Pilbara Minerals Ltd	2.130	-0.040	-1.843	2.135	2.080	29794442	7,109.287 M
PNN	PNN Power Minerals Ltd	0.095	0.004	4.396	0.095	0.091	47359	10.019 M
POS	POS Poseidon Nickel Ltd	0.004	0.000	0.000	0.004	0.004	391346	16.816 M
PSC	PSC Prospect Resources Ltd	0.086	0.001	1.177	0.088	0.086	590040	54.886 M
RIO	RIO Rio Tinto Ltd	117.400	-1.090	-0.920	117.605	116.200	1329249	201,625.813 M
RLC	RLC Reedy Lagoon Corporation Ltd	0.002	0.000	0.000	0.002	0.002	100000	1.523 M
SRK	SRK Strike Resources Ltd	0.026	0.000	0.000	0.026	0.026	499	7.945 M
SYA	SYA Sayona Mining Ltd	0.024	-0.001	-4.000	0.025	0.024	97514196	346.299 M
TAR	TAR Taruga Gold Ltd	0.009	-0.001	-10.000	0.010	0.009	1165291	7.766 M
TEM	TEM Tempest Minerals Ltd	0.005	0.000	0.000	0.005	0.005	1571	3.136 M
TKL	TKL Traka Resources Ltd	0.001	-0.001	-33.333	0.001	0.001	12450	1.976 M
VMC	VMC Venus Metals Corporation Ltd	0.065	-0.001	-1.515	0.065	0.065	9999	13.533 M
VUL	VUL Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd	5.540	-0.340	-5.782	5.820	5.440	1202948	1,249.575 M
WML	WML Woomera Mining Ltd	0.002	0.000	0.000	0.002	0.002	--	4.333 M
ZNC	ZNC Zenith Minerals Ltd	0.040	-0.001	-2.439	0.040	0.040	322	16.996 M

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are the major applications of Lithium and where is it sourced from?

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.

2. Which are the nations with the largest lithium reserves in the world?

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.

3. How much lithium does the world use?

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

4. Where does Australia stand on the global lithium map?

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.