Lithium mining

Lithium mining extracts lithium from hard-rock mineral deposits or lithium-rich brines, producing feedstock for chemicals used in batteries and other products.

Spodumene: A lithium-bearing pyroxene mineral mined as a major source of lithium from hard-rock deposits. This is the principal lithium mineral extracted from many hard-rock deposits.
Lithium-ion battery: A rechargeable battery whose lithium ions move between electrodes during charging and discharging. Battery manufacturing is the largest source of growth in demand for mined lithium.
Water scarcity: A condition in which available water resources cannot meet human, ecological, or economic needs. Brine extraction in arid basins raises concerns about how pumping affects limited water resources.
Hard-rock mining: The extraction of solid mineral deposits through excavation, blasting, and ore processing. It describes the route used to obtain lithium-bearing minerals such as spodumene.
Direct lithium extraction: A group of processes that selectively remove lithium from brines using sorbents, membranes, solvents, or electrochemical methods. These methods aim to recover lithium from brine without relying solely on evaporation ponds.
Lithium hydroxide: An inorganic lithium compound used in battery materials, lubricating greases, and other industrial applications. Some hard-rock supply chains convert mined concentrate into this battery-grade chemical.
Atacama Desert: A hyperarid region of northern Chile that contains major lithium-rich brine deposits. Its salt flats host extensive brine operations in a region with scarce water.
Brine mining: The recovery of dissolved minerals from underground or surface brines. It distinguishes lithium extraction from liquid deposits from extraction of solid ore.
Lithium brine: Groundwater or surface water containing dissolved lithium at concentrations that may support commercial extraction. Brines provide a distinct feedstock and extraction pathway from solid ore.
Lithium iron phosphate battery: A lithium-ion battery that uses lithium iron phosphate as its positive electrode material. Its expanding production contributes to demand for lithium compounds from mining.

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