Lithium: learn more about this chemical element

May 31, 2022

The growing commercialisation of electric cars, smartphones and other electronic devices is strongly driving up the demand for lithium, an indispensable substance in the production of rechargeable batteries.

In this scenario, lithium is considered a strategic metal worldwide and the search for new reserves has become increasingly recurrent. The element is the lowest density in the group of metals and also the most electropositive. Its abundance in the earth's crust is relatively low, at just 12 ppb (part per billion).

Throughout this text, the main sources, applications, world and national reserves, main producers and the current economic context of lithium will be presented.

Lithium sources

Lithium can be found in different minerals. However, spodumene, lepidolite, petalite, amblygonite and montebrasite are considered the most economically viable for exploitation. In this sense, the predominant sources are spodumene and lepidolite.

These minerals occur mainly in granitic pegmatites and brines. In the first case, pegmatites are coarse-grained igneous rocks formed from residual fluids enriched in rare elements. Pegmatites are mainly composed of feldspar, quartz and mica, with a smaller amount of other minerals such as tourmaline, garnet, pertitic microcline, beryl and spodumene.

In addition to granitic pegmatites, lithium can also be extracted from brines. In this type of occurrence, the environments are usually dry with high rates of water evaporation, allowing the formation of brines in which evaporite minerals are also formed, with enrichment of contained elements (Mg, Na, K, Li, I, B).

In Brazil, the main sources of lithium are granitic pegmatites. On a global scale, there are high concentrations of lithium in the desert brines of California, Nevada and Utah. Other important deposits are the brines of the Atacama Desert (Chile), the Salar Uyuni salt desert (Bolivia), in Argentina (Salar del Hombre Muerto, El Rincon), in Tibet (Lake Zabuye), and in the People's Republic of China (Qinghai Basin).

Localização dos principais depósitos de lítio em pegmatitos e salmouras no mundo. Os retângulos sombreados representam a distribuição dos salares na América do Sul e na China.

Lithium applications

The main forms in which lithium is used industrially are lithium hydroxide (LiOH) and lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) (Braga & França 2013). Both have diverse applications. Check out their main uses below:

Batteries and accumulators:

One of the main applications of lithium is in the production of batteries, in which various lithium salts are used as electrolytes in primary batteries.

Lithium batteries require little or no maintenance, no exercise (deliberate complete discharge) to keep them in good shape, long service life, high energy density, among other advantages.

Currently, these batteries are widely used in the manufacture of electric cars. In 2021, according to a report by the International Energy Agency 6.6 million electric cars were sold, which is more than double the number sold in 2020.

Carro Elétrico Tesla conectado a uma estação de carregamento.

Greases and lubricants:

Lithium hydroxide is used to produce greases and lubricants. One of the benefits provided by using the metal is that the grease becomes highly resistant to humidity and high temperatures. As such, this type of grease is totally suitable for lubricating car bearings, aircraft and heavy machinery.

Ceramics and glass:

The use of lithium in the production of ceramics and glass contributes to improvements in chemical resistance, thermal shock resistance and the mouldability conditions of the part. Examples of this are kinescope tubes for televisions and computer monitors that use lithium carbonate in their formulation.

Lithium has many other applications, such as in the aluminium electrolysis process, rubber and plastics production, industrial humidity control and air treatment, as well as being used in the pharmaceutical industry.

Deserto de Salar de Uyuni - Bolívia. Um jipe estacionado em uma bacia de sal. Há três pessoas ao redor da piscina.

World reserves and main producers

According to data presented in the Mineral Commodities Summary (2021), produced by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the largest lithium producers in 2019, in tonnes, were Chile (37.9%), Australia (36.5%) and China (11.3%).

The USGS also estimated the size of the lithium reserves that these countries have.

In this scenario, the identified lithium resources in Bolivia stand out. The USGS has estimated that the country has resources of up to 21 million tonnes of the metal, due to the Salar de Uyuni desert, which is home to 50% of the world's lithium. However, Bolivia has not yet begun to exploit the ore due to its low technical viability.

Brazilian reserves and production

Currently, according to a survey by the Geological Survey of Brazil (CPRM), Brazil holds 8% of the world's lithium reserves. Also according to data from the National Mining Agency (ANM), in 2020, Brazilian lithium production was 4065.75 tonnes.

In Brazil, one of the country's main pegmatite provinces, the Eastern Pegmatite Province of Brazil, has 90% of its area located in the state of Minas Gerais, but also covers the states of Bahia, Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro. The figure below shows the distribution of areas with lithium deposits or occurrences in Minas Gerais:

Mapa de Minas Gerais mostrando a distribuição das áreas com jazidas e ocorrências de minerais de lítio em Minas Gerais.

The Araçuaí Pegmatite District, in the Araçuaí/Itinga region, has one of the main lithium deposits in the country, with a predominance of the minerals spodumene and petalite. This region accounts for most of Brazil's lithium production. In the district, the ore is mined underground.

Mapa da província oriental de pegmatitos no Brasil

In the eastern region of Minas Gerais, the East Project, developed by CPRM, identified 811 occurrences of pegmatites distributed over 21 pegmatite fields that were grouped into 7 Pegmatite Districts, namely the municipalities of Governador Valadares, Santa Maria do Suaçuí, Galiléia, Conselheiro Pena, Resplendor, Divino das Laranjeiras and Mendes Pimentel. In the area, the pegmatites contain the minerals amblygonite, lepidolite and spodumene, from which lithium can be extracted.

Another region rich in pegmatites is the São João del Rei Pegmatite District , which covers the municipalities of Nazareno, São Tiago, Resende Costa, Conceição da Barra de Minas, São João del Rei, Ritápolis and Coronel Xavier Chaves. A survey carried out by the CPRM in 2018 identified four regions with geological potential for lithium located in the municipalities of São Tiago and Nazareno.

In addition, in the state of Ceará there are pegmatite bodies in the Cristais-Russas Pegmatite District, covering the municipalities of Cascavel, Aracoiaba, Russas and Morada Nova, and in the Solonópole-Quixeramobim Pegmatite District (DPSQ), which includes the municipalities of Solonópole, Quixadá, Milhã and Banabuiú. Other incidents were identified in the districts of Parambu, Icó and Itapiúna. In this sense, the DPSQ has the highest concentration of pegmatites with economic potential. However, the region is still in the research phase.

In 2021, only two holders, AMG Brasil S.A. and Companhia Brasileira de Lítio (CBL), paid the CFEM - Financial Compensation for Mineral Exploration - relating to the economic use of lithium in their respective territories. The total amount collected was R $5.5 million. Both mining companies concentrate their operations in Minas Gerais in the areas circled on the map below. The smaller and larger circles correspond to the areas mined by CBL and AMG, respectively.

Arrecadação da CFEM respectiva à utilização econômica do lítio

Current economic context for lithium

The high demand for electric cars, driven by increased sales by Tesla and other automakers, has directly influenced the rise in the price of Lithium due to its role in the production of the batteries used in electric cars. According to the Mining News portal, lithium was the best-performing commodity in 2021. The price of the metal soared 477.42 per cent in the year.

On 6 May 2022, the value of a tonne of lithium carbonate, converted to dollars, was US $67,752.19. See the graph below (in CNY - Yuan):

Gráfico mostrando a evolução do preço do carbonato de lítio por tonelada de maio de 2021 a maio de 2022

The largest miner of the metal, Albemarle Corp, saw its shares jump 19 per cent as the price of lithium rose. Similarly, Livent, the third largest miner of the substance, doubled its earnings guidance for 2022.

However, one of the industry's concerns is the shortage of lithium supply. This is because there are not many active projects to extract the metal and the initial investment to mine it is very high, taking years for the mine to come on stream. There is currently no substitute for lithium in the manufacture of electric vehicle batteries, which makes it indispensable for this sector of the industry.

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