The Power of LithiumBy Kim Beatty

Overview

Origin Discovery Isolation General

information Ore Deposits

Mining & processing

Uses Geopolitical

Implications Conclusions

Origin of Lithium Big Bang (one of three elements)* Stellar interiors Novae & supernova explosions Collisions between galactic cosmic rays and

the interstellar medium

NASA.gov

Discovery of Lithium

Jozé Bonifácio de Andralda e Silva (1790)

Johan August Arfvedson (1817)

www.santosnaweb.com www.chemische-experimente.com

Isolation of Lithium

William Brande and Sir Humphry Davy (1818)

Robert Bunsen and Augustus Matthiessen (1855)

Wikipedia.org

Google.comWikipedia.org

General Information

Soft Least dense of all

metals Does not occur

freely in nature Flammable Reacts with water Toxic (except in very

small doses)Theodoregray.com

Ore Deposits

Brines (66%)*› Continental › Geothermal › Oil-field

Pegmatite or “hard-rock” deposits (26%)

Li-containing sedimentary deposits (8%)› Clay deposits› Lacustrine evaporites

Brines Continental› Saline desert

basins › Li content varies› Chile’s Salar de

Atacama

Wikipedia.org

Brines Geothermal› Salton Sea

www.davestravelcorner.com

Brines

Oil-field› Smackover

Formation (Gulf Coast, U.S.)

› ~0.75 million MT of Li resource

› By-product during oil extraction from most mature oil fields Geology.ar.gov

Brine Formation

Li source rocks Aquifers Time to

concentrate brine

Arid climate Closed basin

containing a salar or playa

Tectonically driven subsidence

Pegmatite Deposits

Intrusive igneous rocks

Phaneritic texture High Li

concentration Spodumene

LCT Pegmatite Formation

Plate convergence

Emplaced in orogenic back country

Last components to crystallize

Melts enriched with water, fluorine, phosphorus, and boron

Mining & Processing of Ore Deposits

Continental Brines› Pumped from

beneath crust› Fed into large,

shallow ponds› 18 – 24 months› Pumped to

recovery plant› Treated with soda

ash› Li2CO3 removed

Evaporation ponds in Chile’s Salar de Atacama NASA.gov

Mining & Processing of Ore Deposits Pegmatites

(Greenbushes, AU)› Open-pit› Separation of

minerals Flotation Roasting (1050ºC) Sulfuric acid mixed Roasted again

(200ºC)

Image credit: Dr. Robert Hickey

Uses of Lithium

Ceramics & glasses Batteries Greases Castings Air treatment Polymers Al production Pharmaceuticals Other

Ceramics and Glasses

Added to glass batch› Conserves

energy/fuel › Lower melting/firing

times› Lower furnace

temperatures› Increased

production speeds› Improved product

quality Houzz.com

Lithium Batteries Primary

› Disposable Watches Pacemakers Toys Remote

control devices

Onsetcomp.com

Dgitraining.com

Lithium-ion Batteries Secondary

› Rechargeable› Portable electronics› Tools› Electric vehicles

Toplowriders.com

Teslarati.com

Tesla’s Li-ion Battery Gigafactory

Nevada› 980 acre site› Option to purchase 9,000 adjacent acres

Double global Li-cell production by 2020 Net zero-energy factory Reduce battery costs more than 30%

Rendering of new gigafactory Courtesy: Tesla Motors

Lubricant Greases

High-temperature resistant greases› Heavy machinery› Aircraft› Motor vehicles

Lubriplate.com

Wikipedia.org

Geopolitical Implications

Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni› ½ of global Li

reserves› Higher rainfall› Cooler climate

Lower evaporation rate

› Lowest avg. grade of Li

Image credit: Noah Friedman Rudovsky

Conclusions

United States Imports >80%

(2013) One active Li-

producing mine (2013)

Exploration expands

Wyoming› ~18 million

tons of potential Li reserves

Questions?

(n.d.). Retrieved Febrary 8, 2015, from Talison Lithium: http://www.talisonlithium.com/about-talison/what-is-lithium-

Bonisteel, S. (2007, April 24). Scientists Discover 'Kryptonite' in Serbian Mine. Retrieved February 7, 2015, from Foxnews.com: http://www.foxnews.com/story/2007/04/24/scientists-discover-kryptonite-in-serbian-mine/

Bradley, D., & McCauley, A. (2013). A Preliminary Model for Lithium-Cesium-Tantalum (LCT) Pegmatites. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved February 8, 2015, from http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2013/1008/OF13-1008.pdf

Bradley, D., Munk, L., Jochens, H., Hynek, S., & Labay, K. (2013). A Preliminary Deposit Model for Lithium Brines. US Geological Survey. Retrieved February 7, 2015, from http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2013/1006/OF13-1006.pdf

Brown, D. (n.d.). Lithium: World Class Deposit. Retrieved February 7, 2015, from Lithium Investing News: http://lithiuminvestingnews.com/investing-in-lithium/lithium-world-class-deposit/

Bullivant, D. (1987, December). Current Surface Mining Techniques. Journal for the Transportation of Materials in Bulk: Bulk Solids Handling, 7(6), 827-833. Retrieved from http://blogs.up.ac.za/weblog/media/file/estelle/adobe%20files/ch2_before.pdf

Chemicool. (n.d.). Retrieved February 7, 2015, from http://www.chemicool.com/elements/lithium.html

Elkind, P. (2014, October 28). Tesla closes on free Nevada land for gigafactory. Retrieved February 25, 2015, from Fortune: http://fortune.com/2014/10/28/tesla-closes-on-free-nevada-land-for-gigafactory/

Fisher, T. (2013, September 3). Will Tesla Alone Double Global Demand for its Battery Cells? Retrieved February 8, 2015, from Green Car Reports: http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1086674_will-tesla-alone-double-global-demand-for-its-battery-cells/page-2

Grahl, C. (2004, May 1). Glass Forming & Processing: Saving Energy with Lithium . Retrieved January 24, 2015, from Ceramic Industry: http://www.ceramicindustry.com/articles/84228-glass-forming-processing-saving-energy-with-lithium

Langenheim, J. (2014, July 24). BloombergBusinessWeek. Retrieved January 24, 2015, from Bolivia's Battery Ambitions: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-24/bolivias-salt-flats-fuel-lithium-battery-ambitions

Mills, R. (n.d.). Lithium ABC's. Retrieved February 8, 2015, from AheadOfTheHerd.com: http://www.aheadoftheherd.com/Newsletter/Lithium%20ABC.htm

mindat.org. (n.d.). Retrieved February 8, 2015, from Greenbushes Mine: http://www.mindat.org/loc-11514.html

Minyanville. (2013, May 3). New Wyoming Lithium Deposit Could Meet All US Demand. Retrieved February 15, 2015, from Nasdaq: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/new-wyoming-lithium-deposit-could-meet-all-us-demand-cm243455

Pan Global Resources. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24, 2015, from Applications of Lithium: http://www.panglobalresources.com/index.php/lithium-borates/applications-of-lithium

Pistilli, M. (2012, October 30). Lithium Investing News. Retrieved January 24, 2015, from http://lithiuminvestingnews.com/6529/lithium-deposits-brine-pegmatite-sedimentary/

Royal Society of Chemistry. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24, 2015, from Periodic Table: Lithium: http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/3/lithium

Rudovsky, N. F. (2015). Beneath Bolivia's Salt Flats: Lithium Wealth. Retrieved January 24, 2015, from Time: http://content.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2023839_2196770,00.html

Scitechdaily. (2015, February 25). Retrieved March 2, 2015, from Nova Delphini 2013 Produces a Large Amount of Lithium: http://scitechdaily.com/nova-delphini-2013-produces-large-amount-lithium/

SGS Mineral Services. (2010, 10). Retrieved February 8, 2015, from Hard Rock Lithium Processing: http://www.sgs.com/~/media/Global/Documents/Flyers%20and%20Leaflets/SGS-MIN-WA109-Hard-Rock-Lithium-Processing-EN-11.pdf

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved February 7, 2015, from Lithium: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24, 2015, from Lithium Battery: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_battery

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved February 8, 2015, from Lithium-ion battery: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_battery

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved February 8, 2015, from Open-pit mining: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-pit_mining

References