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LITHIUM MINING PROSPECTS LOOK BRIGHT IN UNITED STATES
Industrial mineral mining by Harold Hough Dec/Jan 2010
Some elements drive technologies and even phases of our economic growth. The electrical industry relies on copper, and as the United States started to electrify in the 20th Century, copper demand went through the roof. Even today, the electrification of Third World nations like China or India continues to fuel copper demand.
One element that promises to become the “copper” of the 21stcentury is lithium. For decades lithium was primarily used for the production of aluminum, ceramics (Corning Ware), or glass. However, some of its characteristics promise to make it a critical element for the new electrical age.
Lithium is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element. It’s also so soft it can be cut with a knife.
Lithium remained a curiosity for many years until World War Two, when it was discovered to be an excellent additive for high temperature grease. After the development of the atomic bomb, it was used to produce tritium, a critical hydrogen isotope for hydrogen bombs and nuclear triggers. In fact, the US sold much of its strategic reserves of lithium when the Cold War ended.
Lithium’s rebirth came when scientists discovered it had several interesting electrical properties that made it an attractive battery. Lithium batteries have a high energy to weight ratio, which makes them attractive for many uses. Although more costly, they have longer lives, which make the attractive for medical implants, cameras, and computers. As a result, consumption of lithium compounds and chemicals, such as lithium carbonate, in lithium batteries increased by 22% per year from 2000 to 2008.
Lithium is also used in rechargeable batteries. The lithium-ion battery offers higher energy density and can be made into many different shapes, which makes it easier to fit into an electrical device. They also don’t have the “memory effect” that makes other rechargeable batteries less attractive. With the growing demand for hybrid cars, the demand for lithium in rechargeable batteries is expected to explode.
Another lithium product used in high technology electronics is lithium niobate, which is used extensively in telecommunication products like cell phones for such components as resonant crystals.
Unfortunately, this domestic demand for lithium isn’t matched by domestic mining. South America accounted for 60% of world output of lithium in 2008, followed by Australia and China which combined produced 30% of the total. Two-thirds of the world production was from brines and one-third from the mining of lithium minerals. Ironically, the industry was once dominated by two major U.S. pegmatite hard rock producers, until a third producer from Chile started production in the 1980s.
The growing demand for lithium has spurred exploration in the US, especially in the Southwest. It has also caused a consolidation of lithium properties as American companies plan to rebuild a robust lithium mining industry in the US. In October, Lithium Corporation announced that it had completed a share exchange with Nevada Lithium Corporation in order to increase its control of Nevada lithium properties. One of those properties is Fish Lake Valley, a lithium enriched dry lake which is located in west central Nevada in northern Esmeralda county. This property is 19 miles from Chemetall Foote’s Clayton Valley Property which is currently producing lithium.
The future of lithium mining will be evaporative brine mining instead of hard rock mining. Brine extraction takes advantage of the fact that lithium is leached from certain volcanic rocks and, when the surface or groundwater flows into closed basins, becomes more concentrated. The lithium is recovered after the brine is concentrated by solar evaporation, and the alkalines are removed by precipitation. Lithium carbonate is then removed by adding sodium carbonate. Evaporative brine mining has less environmental impact and very little carbon footprint. It does use more water than traditional mining methods.
Lithium mining promises a major boost to American mining. According to a report that came out in 2009, the United States ranks seventh in proven, extractable lithium reserves. Chile ranks first, with 3,000,000 metric tons of extractable lithium. However, as exploration companies continue to scour the Southwestern United States for lithium that reserve figure is expected to increase dramatically.
Those lithium reserves will be needed to fuel future economic growth. Its demand is already closely tied to electronic appliance production. In the future, automobile production will also have a major impact on lithium demand. It’s not unreasonable to see a time when lithium will join iron and copper as the metals that power economic growth.
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