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	0.085	0.001	1.191	0.085	0.085	19850	4.378 M
ADV	ADV Ardiden Ltd	0.135	0.000	0.000	0.135	0.135	329	8.440 M
AGY	AGY Argosy Minerals Ltd	0.049	0.015	44.118	0.051	0.036	43951707	116.474 M
AMD	AMD Arrow Minerals Ltd	0.003	0.000	0.000	0.003	0.002	5518875	42.158 M
ASN	ASN Anson Resources Ltd	0.120	-0.010	-7.692	0.120	0.120	728824	154.864 M
AVL	AVL Australian Vanadium Ltd	0.016	-0.001	-5.882	0.017	0.016	803491	137.870 M
BMG	BMG BMG Resources Ltd	0.007	0.000	0.000	0.007	0.007	16400	5.470 M
BNZ	BNZ Benz Mining Corp	0.115	-0.005	-4.167	0.115	0.115	45544	20.411 M
BOA	BOA Boadicea Resources Ltd	0.020	0.000	0.000	0.020	0.020	--	2.467 M
CUL	CUL Cullen Resources Ltd	0.008	0.000	0.000	0.008	0.008	--	4.866 M
CXO	CXO Core Lithium Ltd	0.096	0.005	5.495	0.097	0.091	13038904	235.063 M
DEG	DEG De Grey Mining Ltd	1.180	-0.010	-0.840	1.200	1.175	2699690	2,928.731 M
DEV	DEV DevEx Resources Ltd	0.255	0.000	0.000	0.260	0.255	50422	125.739 M
DTM	DTM Dart Mining NL	0.020	-0.001	-4.762	0.021	0.020	49000	5.427 M
EMH	EMH European Metals Holdings	0.245	-0.030	-10.909	0.245	0.245	645	52.288 M
EUR	EUR European Lithium Limited	0.048	0.000	0.000	0.049	0.047	91531	65.712 M
GL1	GL1 Global Lithium Resources Ltd	0.255	-0.010	-3.774	0.260	0.250	74117	66.368 M
GLN	GLN Galan Lithium Ltd	0.145	-0.005	-3.333	0.150	0.140	465941	70.897 M
INF	INF Infinity Lithium Corporation Ltd	0.054	0.001	1.887	0.054	0.053	157896	26.830 M
INR	INR ioneer Ltd	0.135	0.005	3.846	0.135	0.130	698663	316.802 M
KOR	KOR Korab Resources Ltd	0.008	0.000	0.000	0.008	0.008	23620	2.936 M
KTA	KTA Krakatoa Resources Ltd	0.011	0.001	10.000	0.011	0.010	871501	4.721 M
LIS	LIS LiS Energy Ltd	0.135	-0.010	-6.897	0.135	0.135	24999	86.427 M
LIT	LIT Lithium Australia NL	0.023	0.001	4.546	0.023	0.023	53216	28.113 M
LKE	LKE Lake Resources NL	0.035	-0.001	-2.778	0.036	0.035	936831	61.234 M
LNR	LNR Lanthanein Resources Limited	0.004	0.000	0.000	0.004	0.004	489191	9.775 M
LPD	LPD Lepidico Ltd	0.002	-0.001	-20.000	0.003	0.002	1403546	17.178 M
LRS	LRS Latin Resources Ltd	0.150	0.000	0.000	0.155	0.150	1489573	420.513 M
LTR	LTR Liontown Resources Ltd	0.950	0.035	3.825	0.965	0.920	10333259	2,340.125 M
MIN	MIN Mineral Resources Ltd	54.330	2.460	4.743	55.400	53.100	710479	10,348.687 M
MLS	MLS Metals Australia Ltd	0.019	-0.001	-5.000	0.019	0.019	58147	13.789 M
MQR	MQR Marquee Resources Ltd	0.010	0.000	0.000	0.010	0.010	62811	4.134 M
NMT	NMT Neometals Ltd	0.070	0.001	1.449	0.070	0.068	291084	43.003 M
NVA	NVA Nova Minerals Ltd	0.160	-0.010	-5.882	0.175	0.160	370589	41.405 M
PLL	PLL Piedmont Lithium Ltd	0.160	-0.005	-3.030	0.165	0.160	526110	323.874 M
PLS	PLS Pilbara Minerals Ltd	2.995	0.125	4.355	3.095	2.950	22190601	8,699.056 M
PNN	PNN Power Minerals Ltd	0.100	0.003	3.093	0.100	0.099	323285	10.680 M
POS	POS Poseidon Nickel Ltd	0.004	0.000	0.000	0.005	0.004	359482	14.854 M
PSC	PSC Prospect Resources Ltd	0.125	0.010	8.696	0.125	0.120	141630	67.015 M
RIO	RIO Rio Tinto Ltd	116.060	3.250	2.881	116.420	114.930	813600	183,179.739 M
RLC	RLC Reedy Lagoon Corporation Ltd	0.003	-0.001	-14.286	0.003	0.003	250000	1.859 M
SRK	SRK Strike Resources Ltd	0.036	0.000	0.000	0.036	0.036	--	10.215 M
SYA	SYA Sayona Mining Ltd	0.031	-0.001	-3.125	0.032	0.031	15363558	319.092 M
TAR	TAR Taruga Gold Ltd	0.009	0.000	0.000	0.009	0.009	--	6.354 M
TEM	TEM Tempest Minerals Ltd	0.009	0.000	0.000	0.009	0.009	50000	4.895 M
TKL	TKL Traka Resources Ltd	0.001	-0.001	-33.333	0.001	0.001	450000	1.946 M
VMC	VMC Venus Metals Corporation Ltd	0.087	0.000	0.000	0.087	0.087	--	16.506 M
VUL	VUL Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd	4.510	0.040	0.895	4.650	4.500	182276	841.205 M
WML	WML Woomera Mining Ltd	0.003	0.000	0.000	0.003	0.003	--	3.654 M
ZNC	ZNC Zenith Minerals Ltd	0.052	-0.003	-5.455	0.052	0.051	18500	19.381 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.