lithium mining

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has prepared a report, funded by the US Department of Energy, to thoroughly quantify the amount of lithium in an underground reserve in the Salton Sea, California.

The Brazilian town of Vale do Jequitinhonha (MG), which stands out worldwide in mineral production, is the stage of a multisectoral program for the use of Brazilian lithium. The government is now exploring the opportunities of the area in the energy transition.

Enel and Vulcan Energy are looking at the potential for lithium mining at a site near Rome.

The geothermal field beneath California’s Salton Sea contains brine that may hold from one to six million metric tons of lithium, an essential element for producing batteries. A Berkeley Lab study aims to evaluate the resource.

Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto’s ambition to become one of the world’s largest lithium suppliers has taken a battering with the Serbian government pulling the plug on the company’s $3.3 billion ($US2.4 billion) Jadar lithium-borates project.

US scientists have assessed the viability and potential supply chain impact of extracting lithium from geothermal brines, and they have reported promising results.

Research institutes in Germany and Chile are investigating the potential of extracting lithium and other minerals, as well as drinking water, from brines used in geothermal energy. The concept could greatly reduce the environmental impacts of mining in northern Chile. The project has set up a demonstration of the technology at a geothermal power plant in western Germany, and is working to identify optimal sites in Chile for further development.

Australia’s only lithium mine outside of Western Australia, Core Lithium’s Finniss Lithium Project, has produced “battery grade” lithium hydroxide, according to the company, with Core hoping the development will place it at the “forefront” of lithium production for the global renewable energy and EV markets.

Researchers have sounded the alarm. If no serious efforts are made on second-life battery use, recycling and vehicle-to-grid applications, decarbonization efforts may hit the buffers a lot sooner than expected.

Australian company Infinity Lithium has signed a memorandum of understanding with the European Battery Alliance to promote its lithium mine project in San José, Extremadura. It would be the first lithium project to obtain European financing but has already raised the hackles of local environmentalists and residents.