Editing Lithium (section)

== Production ==
{{See also|List of countries by lithium production}}
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="float:right; margin:5px; text-align:right;"
|+Lithium mine production (2023), reserves and resources in tonnes according to [[United States Geological Survey|USGS]]<ref name="uslit" />
|-
! Country
! data-sort-type="number" | Production
! data-sort-type="number" | Reserves<ref group=note name=res />
! data-sort-type="number" | Resources
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Argentina]]
| 8,630
| 4,000,000
| 23,000,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Lithium mining in Australia|Australia]]
| 91,700
| 7,000,000
| 8,900,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Austria]]
| -
| -
| 60,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Bolivia]]
| -
| -
| 23,000,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Brazil]]
| 5,260
| 390,000
| 1,300,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Canada]]
| 3,240
| 1,200,000
| 5,700,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Chile]]
| 41,400
| 9,300,000
| 11,000,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[China]]
| 35,700
| 3,000,000
| 6,800,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Czech Republic]]
| -
| -
| 1,300,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[DR Congo]]
| -
| -
| 3,000,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Finland]]
| -
| -
| 55,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Germany]]
| -
| -
| 4,000,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Ghana]]
| -
| -
| 200,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[India]]
| -
| -
| 5,900,000<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 February 2023 |title=India finds 5.9 million tonnes lithium deposits in Jammu and Kashmir |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-finds-5-9-million-tonnes-lithium-deposits-in-jammu-and-kashmir-101676000517859.html |website=Hindustan Times |access-date=11 February 2023 |archive-date=10 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210044915/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-finds-5-9-million-tonnes-lithium-deposits-in-jammu-and-kashmir-101676000517859.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=10 February 2023 |title=5.9 million tonnes Lithium deposits found in J&K: Why it's important |website=[[The Times of India]] |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/5-9-million-tonnes-lithium-deposits-found-in-jk-why-its-important/articleshow/97797384.cms |access-date=11 February 2023 |archive-date=10 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210093404/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/5-9-million-tonnes-lithium-deposits-found-in-jk-why-its-important/articleshow/97797384.cms |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Kazakhstan]]
| -
| -
| 45,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Mali]]
| -
| -
| 1,200,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Mexico]]
| -
| -
| 1,700,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Namibia]]
| 2,700
| 14,000
| 230,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Peru]]
| -
| -
| 1,000,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Portugal]]
| 380
| 60,000
| 270,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Russia]]
| -
| -
| 1,000,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Serbia]]
| -
| -
| 1,200,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Spain]]
| -
| -
| 320,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[United States]]
| 870<ref group=note>In 2013</ref>
| 1,800,000
| 14,000,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Zimbabwe]]
| 14,900
| 480,000
| 860,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Other countries
| -
| 2,800,000
| -
|-
| '''World total'''
| '''204,000'''<ref group=note>Excludes U.S. production</ref>
| '''30,000,000'''
| '''116,000,000+'''
|}

Lithium production has greatly increased since the end of [[World War II]]. The main sources of lithium are [[brine]]s and [[ore]]s.

Lithium metal is produced through [[electrolysis]] applied to a mixture of fused 55% [[lithium chloride]] and 45% [[potassium chloride]] at about 450&nbsp;°C.<ref>{{Greenwood&Earnshaw2nd|page=73}}</ref>

Lithium is one of the elements critical in a world running on renewable energy and dependent on batteries. This suggests that lithium will be one of the main objects of [[geopolitical]] competition, but this perspective has also been criticised for underestimating the power of economic incentives for expanded production.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Overland |first=Indra |date=2019-03-01 |title=The geopolitics of renewable energy: Debunking four emerging myths |journal=Energy Research & Social Science |volume=49 |pages=36–40 |doi=10.1016/j.erss.2018.10.018 |issn=2214-6296 |url=https://nupi.brage.unit.no/nupi-xmlui/bitstream/11250/2579292/2/2019%2b-%2bThe%2bgeopolitics%2bof%2brenewable%2benergy%252C%2bdebunking%2bfour%2bemerging%2bmyths.pdf |access-date=25 August 2019 |archive-date=13 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313170552/https://nupi.brage.unit.no/nupi-xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/2579292/2019+-+The+geopolitics+of+renewable+energy%2C+debunking+four+emerging+myths.pdf?sequence=2 |url-status=live |doi-access=free |bibcode=2019ERSS...49...36O}}</ref>

=== Reserves and occurrence ===
[[File:USGS-PP-1802k-K13.png|thumb|right|460px|Scatter plots of lithium grade and tonnage for selected world deposits, as of 2017]]
The small ionic size makes it difficult for lithium to be included in early stages of mineral crystallization. As a result, lithium remains in the molten phases, where it gets enriched, until it gets solidified in the final stages. Such lithium enrichment is responsible for all commercially promising lithium [[ore]] deposits. [[Brines]] (and dry salt) are another important source of Li<sup>+</sup>. Although the number of known lithium-containing deposits and brines is large, most of them are either small or have too low Li<sup>+</sup> concentrations. Thus, only a few appear to be of commercial value.<ref>SGU. Mineralmarknaden, Tema: Litium [in Swedish]. Publication by the Swedish Geological Survey; 2009. ISSN 0283-2038</ref>

The [[US Geological Survey]] (USGS) estimated worldwide identified lithium reserves in 2022 and 2023 to be 26 million and 28 million [[tonne]]s, respectively.<ref name="minerals.usgs.gov" /><ref name="uslit">{{Cite web |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2025/mcs2025-lithium.pdf |title=Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025 |date=31 January 2025 |website=U.S. Geological Survey |access-date=27 February 2025 |archive-date=27 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250227101655/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2025/mcs2025-lithium.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> An accurate estimate of world lithium reserves is difficult.<ref name="gold">{{Cite journal |doi=10.1038/nchem.680 |pmid=20489722 |title=Is lithium the new gold? |journal=Nature Chemistry |volume=2 |issue=6 |page=510 |year=2010 |last1=Tarascon |first1=J. M. |author-link1=Jean-Marie Tarascon |bibcode=2010NatCh...2..510T |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="forbes">{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/toddwoody/2011/10/19/lithium-the-new-california-gold-rush/ |title=Lithium: The New California Gold Rush |last=Woody |first=Todd |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219105058/http://www.forbes.com/sites/toddwoody/2011/10/19/lithium-the-new-california-gold-rush/print/ |archive-date=19 December 2014 |work=Forbes |date=19 October 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> One reason for this is that most lithium classification schemes are developed for solid ore deposits, whereas brine is a [[fluid]] that is problematic to treat with the same classification scheme due to varying concentrations and pumping effects.<ref name="Houston2011">{{cite journal |last1=Houston |first1=J. |last2=Butcher |first2=A. |last3=Ehren |first3=P. |last4=Evans |first4=K. |last5=Godfrey |first5=L. |title=The Evaluation of Brine Prospects and the Requirement for Modifications to Filing Standards |journal=Economic Geology |date=2011 |volume=106 |issue=7 |pages=1225–1239 |doi=10.2113/econgeo.106.7.1225 |bibcode=2011EcGeo.106.1225H |url=http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/17086/1/THE_EVALUATION_OF_BRINE_PROSPECTS_final%20for%20submission.pdf |access-date=28 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720195919/http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/17086/1/THE_EVALUATION_OF_BRINE_PROSPECTS_final%20for%20submission.pdf |archive-date=20 July 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2019, world production of lithium from spodumene was around 80,000t per annum, primarily from the [[Greenbushes, Western Australia|Greenbushes]] pegmatite and from some [[China|Chinese]] and [[Chile]]an sources. The Talison mine in Greenbushes is reported to be the largest and to have the highest grade of ore at 2.4% Li<sub>2</sub>O (2012 figures).<ref>{{cite web |title=Greenbushes Lithium Mine |url=http://www.goldendragoncapital.com/greenbushes-lithium-mine/ |website=Golden Dragon Capital |access-date=18 January 2019 |language=en |archive-date=19 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121438/http://www.goldendragoncapital.com/greenbushes-lithium-mine/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Lithium triangle and other brine sources ====
The world's top four lithium-producing countries in 2019, as reported by the US Geological Survey, were [[lithium mining in Australia|Australia]], [[Chile]], [[Economy of China|China]] and [[Economy of Argentina|Argentina]].<ref name="minerals.usgs.gov" />

The three countries of [[Chile]], [[Bolivia]], and [[Argentina]] contain a region known as the [[Lithium Triangle]]. The Lithium Triangle is known for its high-quality salt flats, which include Bolivia's [[Salar de Uyuni]], Chile's [[Salar de Atacama]], and Argentina's [[Salar de Arizaro]]. {{as of|2018}}, the Lithium Triangle was estimated to contain over 75% of existing known lithium reserves.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Lithium Triangle |url=https://latintrade.com/the-lithium-triangle/ |last=Halpern |first=Abel |work=Latin Trade |date=30 January 2014 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180610055238/http://latintrade.com/the-lithium-triangle/ |archive-date=10 June 2018}}</ref> Deposits found in subsurface brines have also been found in South America throughout the [[Andes]] mountain chain. In 2010, Chile was the leading producer, followed by Argentina. Both countries recover lithium from brine pools. According to USGS, Bolivia's [[Uyuni]] Desert has 5.4 million tonnes of lithium.<ref name="romero" /><ref>{{cite web |publisher=USGS |url=http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/2009/mcs2009.pdf |title=USGS Mineral Commodities Summaries 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100614002723/http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/2009/mcs2009.pdf |archive-date=14 June 2010}}</ref> Half the world's known reserves are located in [[Bolivia]] along the central eastern slope of the Andes.  The Bolivian government has invested US$900 million in lithium production and in 2021 successfully produced 540 tons.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dube |first=Ryan |title=The Place With the Most Lithium Is Blowing the Electric-Car Revolution |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/electric-cars-batteries-lithium-triangle-latin-america-11660141017 |access-date=11 August 2022 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=11 August 2022 |language=en |issn=1042-9840 |volume=CCLXXX |number=35 |pages=A1, A8 |archive-date=10 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810225908/https://www.wsj.com/articles/electric-cars-batteries-lithium-triangle-latin-america-11660141017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="romero">{{Cite news |author=Romero, Simon |title=In Bolivia, a Tight Grip on the Next Big Resource |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/world/americas/03lithium.html?ref=world |work=The New York Times |date=2 February 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701054223/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/world/americas/03lithium.html?ref=world |archive-date=1 July 2017}}</ref> The brines in the salt pans of the Lithium Triangle vary widely in lithium content.<ref name="cabello2022" /> Concentrations can also vary over time as brines are fluids that are changeable and mobile.<ref name="cabello2022" />

In the US, lithium is recovered from brine pools in [[Nevada]].<ref name="CRC" /> Projects are also under development in [[Lithium Valley]] in California<ref name="FM 2023-12-12">{{Cite magazine |last=Bernick |first=Michael |date=December 12, 2023 |title=The Jobs Perplex Of The Lithium Valley |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelbernick/2023/12/12/the-jobs-perplex-of-the-lithium-valley/ |access-date=2024-02-05 |magazine=Forbes |language=en |archive-date=5 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240205065011/https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelbernick/2023/12/12/the-jobs-perplex-of-the-lithium-valley/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and from brine in southwest [[Arkansas]] using a direct lithium extraction process, drawing on the deep brine resource in the [[Smackover Formation]].<ref name=AR20250311>{{cite web |url=https://www.standardlithium.com/investors/news-events/press-releases/detail/186/smackover-lithium-successfully-completes-derisking-of-dle |title=Smackover Lithium Successfully Completes Derisking of DLE Technology With Final Field-Test at South West Arkansas Project |website=standardlithium.com |date=11 March 2025 |access-date=14 March 2025}}</ref>

==== Hard-rock deposits ====
Since 2018 the [[Mining industry of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Democratic Republic of Congo]] is known to have the largest lithium [[spodumene]] hard-rock deposit in the world.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 10, 2018 |title=This Congo project could supply the world with lithium |work=[[MiningDotCom]] |url=https://www.mining.com/one-congo-project-supply-world-lithium/ |access-date=26 March 2021 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414030827/https://www.mining.com/one-congo-project-supply-world-lithium/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The deposit located in [[Manono, Democratic Republic of the Congo|Manono]], [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|DRC]], may hold up to 1.5 billion tons of lithium spodumene hard-rock. The two largest pegmatites (known as the Carriere de l'Este Pegmatite and the Roche Dure Pegmatite) are each of similar size or larger than the famous Greenbushes Pegmatite in [[Western Australia]]. Thus, the [[Mining industry of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Democratic Republic of Congo]] is expected to be a significant supplier of lithium to the world with its high grade and low impurities.

On 16 July 2018 2.5 million tonnes of high-grade lithium resources and 124 million pounds of uranium resources were found in the Falchani hard rock deposit in the region Puno, Peru.<ref>{{cite news |title=Plateau Energy Metals Peru unit finds large lithium resources |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/peru-lithium/update-1-plateau-energy-metals-peru-unit-finds-large-lithium-resources-idUSL1N1UC0XF |work=Reuters |date=16 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726204758/https://www.reuters.com/article/peru-lithium/update-1-plateau-energy-metals-peru-unit-finds-large-lithium-resources-idUSL1N1UC0XF |archive-date=26 July 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2020, Australia granted Major Project Status (MPS) to the [[Finniss Lithium Project]] for a strategically important lithium deposit: an estimated 3.45 million tonnes (Mt) of mineral resource at 1.4 percent [[lithium oxide]].<ref name=miningnews20210317>{{cite news |title=Australia grants MPS for Core Lithium's Finniss lithium project |url=https://www.miningmetalnews.com/20210317/1786/australia-grants-mps-core-lithiums-finniss-lithium-project |last=Matthis |first=Simon |work=MiningMetalNews |date=17 March 2021 |access-date=13 October 2022 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013033439/https://www.miningmetalnews.com/20210317/1786/australia-grants-mps-core-lithiums-finniss-lithium-project |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=primero20221013>[https://primero.com.au/projects/finniss-lithium/ CORE Lithium : Finnis Lithium] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013033439/https://primero.com.au/projects/finniss-lithium/ |date=13 October 2022 }}, retrieved 13 October 2022</ref> Operational mining began in 2022.<ref name=miningtech202201>{{cite news |title=Finniss Lithium Project, Northern Territory, Australia |url=https://www.mining-technology.com/projects/finniss-lithium-project/ |work=Mining Technology |date=13 January 2022 |access-date=13 October 2022 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013033440/https://www.mining-technology.com/projects/finniss-lithium-project/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

A deposit discovered in 2013 in Wyoming's [[Rock Springs Uplift]] is estimated to contain 228,000 tons.{{clarify|date=September 2023}} Additional deposits in the same formation were estimated to be as much as 18 million tons.<ref>{{cite web |first=John C.K. |last=Daly |publisher=OilPrice.com |date=26 April 2013 |title=Researchers Have Stumbled On A Massive Lithium Mine That Could Meet All US Demand |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/new-wyoming-lithium-deposit-could-meet-all-us-demand-2013-4 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130503085509/http://www.businessinsider.com/new-wyoming-lithium-deposit-could-meet-all-us-demand-2013-4 |archive-date=3 May 2013 |website=[[Business Insider]] |location=New York City, U.S.}}</ref> Similarly in Nevada, the [[McDermitt Caldera]] hosts lithium-bearing volcanic muds that consist of the largest known deposits of lithium within the United States.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Benson |first1=Tom |title=Lithium enrichment in intracontinental rhyolite magmas leads to Li deposits in caldera basins |journal=Nature Communications |date=16 August 2016 |volume=8 |issue=1 |page=270 |doi=10.1038/s41467-017-00234-y |pmid=28814716 |pmc=5559592}}</ref>

The [[Pampean Pegmatite Province]] in Argentina is known to have a total of at least 200,000 tons of [[spodumene]] with [[lithium oxide]] (Li<sub>2</sub>O) [[ore grade|grades]] varying between 5 and 8 wt %.<ref name=minerals>{{Cite journal |title=The Li-Bearing Pegmatites from the Pampean Pegmatite Province, Argentina: Metallogenesis and Resources |journal=Minerals |publisher=[[MDPI]] |last1=Galliski |first1=Miguel Ángel |last3=Roda-Robles |first3=Encarnación |last4=von Quadt |first4=Albrecht |doi=10.3390/min12070841 |year=2022 |last2=Márquez-Zavalía |first2=María Florencia |volume=12 |issue=7 |page=841 |bibcode=2022Mine...12..841G |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In Russia the largest lithium deposit Kolmozerskoye is located in [[Murmansk]] region. In 2023, Polar Lithium, a joint venture between Nornickel and Rosatom, has been granted the right to develop the deposit. The project aims to produce 45,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate and hydroxide per year and plans to reach full design capacity by 2030.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Polar Lithium awarded right to develop Russia's largest lithium deposit |date=9 February 2023 |url=https://metals-news.com/breaking-news/polar-lithium-awarded-right-to-develop-russias-largest-lithium-deposit/ |access-date=22 July 2023 |archive-date=22 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722162141/https://metals-news.com/breaking-news/polar-lithium-awarded-right-to-develop-russias-largest-lithium-deposit/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Sources ===
Another potential source of lithium {{as of|2012|lc=y}} was identified as the leachates of [[Geothermal electricity|geothermal wells]], which are carried to the surface.<ref name="bourcier">Parker, Ann. [https://www.llnl.gov/str/JanFeb05/Bourcier.html Mining Geothermal Resources] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120917035952/https://www.llnl.gov/str/JanFeb05/Bourcier.html|date=17 September 2012}}. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory</ref> Recovery of this type of lithium has been demonstrated in the field; the lithium is separated by simple filtration.<ref name="Simbol">Patel, P. (16 November 2011) [https://www.technologyreview.com/2011/11/16/21117/startup-to-capture-lithium-from-geothermal-plants/ Startup to Capture Lithium from Geothermal Plants] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220721191404/https://www.technologyreview.com/2011/11/16/21117/startup-to-capture-lithium-from-geothermal-plants/ |date=21 July 2022 }}. technologyreview.com</ref>{{clarify|what about the economic viability of the concept? has it been demonstrated beyond the academic literature?|date=March 2021}} Reserves are more limited than those of brine reservoirs and hard rock.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

=== Pricing ===
[[File:Lithium prices.webp|thumb|300px|Lithium prices]]
In 1998, the price of lithium metal was about {{nowrap|95 USD/kg}} (or US$43/[[Pound (mass)|lb]]).<ref name="ober">{{cite web |url=http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/lithium/450798.pdf |title=Lithium |access-date=19 August 2007 |last=Ober |first=Joyce A. |pages=77–78 |publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711062102/http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/lithium/450798.pdf |archive-date=11 July 2007}}</ref> After the [[2008 financial crisis]], major suppliers, such as [[Sociedad Química y Minera]] (SQM), dropped [[lithium carbonate]] pricing by 20%.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sqm-announces-new-lithium-prices-62933122.html |title=SQM Announces New Lithium Prices – SANTIAGO, Chile |agency=PR Newswire |date=30 September 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530015745/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sqm-announces-new-lithium-prices-62933122.html |archive-date=30 May 2013}}</ref> Prices rose in 2012. A 2012 [[Bloomberg Businessweek|Business Week]] article outlined an [[oligopoly]] in the lithium space: "SQM, controlled by billionaire [[Julio Ponce Lerou|Julio Ponce]], is the second-largest, followed by [[Albemarle Corporation#Acquisition of Rockwood Holdings|Rockwood]], which is backed by [[Henry Kravis]]'s KKR & Co., and Philadelphia-based FMC", with [[Talison Minerals|Talison]] mentioned as the biggest producer.<ref name="Riseborough-2012" /> Global consumption may jump to 300,000 metric tons a year by 2020{{failed verification|date=March 2021}}<!-- a 2012 source cannot be used to support a 2020 claim --> from about 150,000 tons in 2012, to match the demand for lithium batteries that has been growing at about 25% a year, outpacing the 4% to 5% overall gain in lithium production.<ref name="Riseborough-2012">{{cite web |last=Riseborough |first=Jesse |url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-06-19/ipad-boom-strains-lithium-supplies-after-prices-triple |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120622183939/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-06-19/ipad-boom-strains-lithium-supplies-after-prices-triple |archive-date=22 June 2012 |title=IPad Boom Strains Lithium Supplies After Prices Triple |work=Bloomberg BusinessWeek |access-date=1 May 2013}}</ref>{{update after|2013}}

The price information service ISE – Institute of Rare Earths Elements and Strategic Metals – gives for various lithium substances in the average of March to August 2022 the following kilo prices stable in the course: Lithium carbonate, purity 99.5% min, from various producers between 63 and 72 EUR/kg. Lithium hydroxide monohydrate LiOH 56.5% min, China, at 66 to 72 EUR/kg; delivered South Korea – 73 EUR/kg. Lithium metal 99.9% min, delivered China – 42 EUR/kg.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://en.institut-seltene-erden.de/ |title=ISE Metal-quotes |access-date=29 September 2022 |archive-date=9 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709151623/https://en.institut-seltene-erden.de/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Extraction ===
[[File:Preliminary Design And Analysis of a process for the extraction of lithium from seawater.pdf|thumb|upright|Analyses of the extraction of lithium from seawater, published in 1975]]
Lithium and its compounds were historically isolated and extracted from hard rock.  However, by the 1990s [[mineral springs]], [[brine]] pools, and brine deposits had become the dominant source.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}} Most of these were in Chile, Argentina and Bolivia and the lithium is extracted from the brine by evaporative processes.<ref name="uslit" /> Large lithium-clay deposits under development in the McDermitt caldera (Nevada, United States) require concentrated sulfuric acid to leach lithium from the clay ore.<ref>{{cite tech report |title=Thacker Pass Lithium Mine Project Final Environmental Impact Statement |number=DOI-BLM-NV-W010-2020-0012-EIS |date=December 4, 2020 |publisher=[[Bureau of Land Management]] and the [[U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]] |url=https://eplanning.blm.gov/public_projects/1503166/200352542/20030633/250036832/Thacker%20Pass_FEIS_Chapters1-6_508.pdf |access-date=March 16, 2021}}</ref>

By early 2021, much of the lithium mined globally came from either "[[spodumene]], the mineral contained in hard rocks found in places such as Australia and North Carolina"<ref name="wsj20210309">{{cite news |last1=Patterson |first1=Scott |last2=Ramkumar |first2=Amrith |date=9 March 2021 |title=America's Battery-Powered Car Hopes Ride on Lithium. One Producer Paves the Way |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/americas-battery-powered-car-hopes-ride-on-lithium-one-producer-paves-the-way-11615311932 |url-status=live |access-date=13 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210312162240/https://www.wsj.com/articles/americas-battery-powered-car-hopes-ride-on-lithium-one-producer-paves-the-way-11615311932 |archive-date=12 March 2021}}</ref> or from salty brine pumped directly out of the ground, as it is in locations in Chile.<ref name="wsj20210309" /><ref name=cabello2022>{{cite journal |last1=Cabello |first1=J |year=2022 |title=Reserves, resources and lithium exploration in the salt flats of northern Chile |url=http://www.andeangeology.cl/index.php/revista1/article/view/V49n2-3444/html |journal=[[Andean Geology]] |volume=49 |issue=2 |pages=297–306 |doi=10.5027/andgeoV49n2-3444] |doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |access-date=3 July 2022 |archive-date=12 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221212053906/http://www.andeangeology.cl/index.php/revista1/article/view/V49n2-3444/html |url-status=live}}</ref> In Chile's [[Salar de Atacama]], the lithium concentration in the brine is raised by solar evaporation in a system of ponds.<ref name=cabello2022 /> The enrichment by evaporation process may require up to one-and-a-half years, when the brine reaches a lithium content of 6%.<ref name=cabello2022 /> The final processing in this example is done in [[Salar del Carmen]] and [[La Negra (industrial complex)|La Negra]] near the coastal city of [[Antofagasta]] where pure [[lithium carbonate]], [[lithium hydroxide]], and [[lithium chloride]] are produced from the brine.<ref name=cabello2022 />

Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technologies are being developed as alternatives to the evaporitic technology long used to extract lithium salts from [[brine]]s. The traditional evaporitic technology is a long duration process requiring large amounts of land and intensive water use, and can only be applied to the large continental brines. In contrast, DLE technologies are proposed to tackle the environmental and techno–economic shortcomings by avoiding brine evaporation.<ref name=nature20230223>{{Cite journal |last1=Vera |first1=María L. |last2=Torres |first2=Walter R. |last3=Galli |first3=Claudia I. |last4=Chagnes |first4=Alexandre |last5=Flexer |first5=Victoria |date=March 2023 |title=Environmental impact of direct lithium extraction from brines |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s43017-022-00387-5 |journal=Nature Reviews Earth & Environment |language=en |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=149–165 |doi=10.1038/s43017-022-00387-5 |bibcode=2023NRvEE...4..149V |issn=2662-138X}}</ref><ref name=NREE2022>{{Cite journal |last1=Voskoboynik |first1=D.M. |last2=Andreucci |first2=D. |date=2022 |title=Greening extractivism: environmental impact of direct lithium extraction from brines |journal=Nature Reviews Earth & Environment |volume=4 |pages=149–165}}</ref>  Some recent lithium mining projects are attempting to bring DLE into commercial production by these non-evaporative DLE approaches.<ref name=AR20250311 />

One method direct lithium extraction, as well as other valuable [[mineral]]s, is to process geothermal brine water through an electrolytic cell, located within a membrane.<ref name="Sun-2020">{{Cite journal |last1=Sun |first1=Sen |last2=Yu |first2=Xiaoping |last3=Li |first3=Mingli |last4=Duo |first4=Ji |last5=Guo |first5=Yafei |last6=Deng |first6=Tianlong |date=2020-02-20 |title=Green recovery of lithium from geothermal water based on a novel lithium iron phosphate electrochemical technique |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095965261934048X |journal=Journal of Cleaner Production |language=en |volume=247 |page=119178 |doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119178 |bibcode=2020JCPro.24719178S |s2cid=211445414 |issn=0959-6526}}</ref>{{update after|2024}}<!-- is any of this being operationalized? what are the economics of electrolysis for commercial use? -->

The use of [[electrodialysis]] and electrochemical intercalation was proposed in 2020 to extract lithium compounds from seawater (which contains lithium at 0.2 [[parts per million]]).<ref>{{Cite journal |author=Chong Liu |author2=Yanbin Li |author3=Dingchang Lin |author4=Po-Chun Hsu |author5=Bofei Liu |author6=Gangbin Yan |author7=Tong Wu Yi Cui |author8=Steven Chu |title=Lithium Extraction from Seawater through Pulsed Electrochemical Intercalation |journal=Joule |date=2020 |volume=4 |issue=7 |pages=1459–1469 |doi=10.1016/j.joule.2020.05.017 |bibcode=2020Joule...4.1459L |s2cid=225527170}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |author=Tsuyoshi Hoshino |title=Innovative lithium recovery technique from seawater by using world-first dialysis with a lithium ionic superconductor |journal=Desalination |volume=359 |date=2015 |pages=59–63 |doi=10.1016/j.desal.2014.12.018 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2015Desal.359...59H}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/seawater-could-provide-nearly-unlimited-amounts-critical-battery-material |title=Seawater could provide nearly unlimited amounts of critical battery material |author=Robert F. Service |date=July 13, 2020 |magazine=Science |access-date=26 December 2020 |archive-date=13 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113062048/https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/07/seawater-could-provide-nearly-unlimited-amounts-critical-battery-material |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Yang-2018">{{Cite journal |last1=Yang |first1=Sixie |last2=Zhang |first2=Fan |last3=Ding |first3=Huaiping |last4=He |first4=Ping |last5=Zhou |first5=Haoshen |date=2018-09-19 |title=Lithium Metal Extraction from Seawater |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542435118302927 |journal=Joule |language=en |volume=2 |issue=9 |pages=1648–1651 |doi=10.1016/j.joule.2018.07.006 |bibcode=2018Joule...2.1648Y |s2cid=189702476 |issn=2542-4351 |access-date=21 October 2020 |archive-date=19 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119111157/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542435118302927 |url-status=live}}</ref> Ion-selective cells within a membrane in principle could collect lithium either by use of [[electric field]] or a concentration difference.<ref name="Yang-2018" /> In 2024, a redox/electrodialysis system was claimed to offer enormous cost savings, shorter timelines, and less environmental damage than traditional evaporation-based systems.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ghoshal |first=Abhimanyu |date=2024-08-27 |title=Stanford breakthrough promises 50% cheaper, cleaner lithium extraction |url=https://newatlas.com/materials/cheaper-cleaner-lithium-extraction/?utm_source=New+Atlas+Subscribers&utm_campaign=053646e762-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_08_27_01_57&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_65b67362bd-053646e762-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D |access-date=2024-08-29 |website=New Atlas |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Environmental issues ===
{{Further|Environmental impacts of lithium-ion batteries}}
[[File:Environmental protests in Belgrade, 11 December 2021.jpg|thumb|[[2021–2022 Serbian environmental protests|Environmental protests]] in Belgrade, Serbia, 11 December 2021]]
The manufacturing processes of lithium, including the solvent and [[mining waste]], presents significant environmental and health hazards.<ref name="UNCTAD-2020-02">{{cite journal |last1=Amui |first1=Rachid |title=Commodities At a Glance: Special issue on strategic battery raw materials |journal=United Nations Conference on Trade and Development |date=February 2020 |volume=13 |issue=UNCTAD/DITC/COM/2019/5 |url=https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/ditccom2019d5_en.pdf |access-date=10 February 2021 |archive-date=3 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203083250/https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/ditccom2019d5_en.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="EPA-2013">{{cite report |date=2013 |title=Application of Life-Cycle Assessment to Nanoscale Technology: Lithium-ion Batteries for Electric Vehicles |url=https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice/partnership-conduct-life-cycle-assessment-lithium-ion-batteries-and-nanotechnology |publisher=U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) |location=Washington, DC |id=EPA 744-R-12-001 |access-date=24 March 2021 |archive-date=11 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711070403/https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice/partnership-conduct-life-cycle-assessment-lithium-ion-batteries-and-nanotechnology |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Environmental Leader">{{cite web |title=Can Nanotech Improve Li-ion Battery Performance |url=http://www.environmentalleader.com/2013/05/30/nanotech-can-improve-li-ion-battery-performance/ |publisher=Environmental Leader |date=30 May 2013 |access-date=3 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821064806/http://www.environmentalleader.com/2013/05/30/nanotech-can-improve-li-ion-battery-performance/ |archive-date=21 August 2016}}</ref>
Lithium extraction can be fatal to aquatic life due to [[water pollution]].<ref name="WIRED-Katwala">{{cite magazine |last1=Katwala |first1=Amit |title=The spiralling environmental cost of our lithium battery addiction |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/lithium-batteries-environment-impact |magazine=Wired |publisher=Condé Nast Publications |access-date=10 February 2021 |archive-date=9 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209172109/https://www.wired.co.uk/article/lithium-batteries-environment-impact |url-status=live}}</ref>  It is known to cause surface water contamination, drinking water contamination, respiratory problems, ecosystem degradation and landscape damage.<ref name="UNCTAD-2020-02" />  It also leads to unsustainable water consumption in arid regions (1.9 million liters per ton of lithium).<ref name="UNCTAD-2020-02" />  Massive byproduct generation of lithium extraction also presents unsolved problems, such as large amounts of [[magnesium]] and [[Lime (material)|lime]] waste.<ref name="NATGEO-Draper">{{cite news |last1=Draper |first1=Robert |title=This metal is powering today's technology—at what price? |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2019/02/lithium-is-fueling-technology-today-at-what-cost/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190118232341/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2019/02/lithium-is-fueling-technology-today-at-what-cost/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 January 2019 |url-access=subscription |access-date=10 February 2021 |work=National Geographic |issue=February 2019 |publisher=National Geographic Partners}}</ref>

Although lithium occurs naturally, it is a [[non-renewable resource]] yet is seen as crucial in the transition away from [[Fossil fuel phase-out|fossil fuels]], and the extraction process has been criticised for long-term degradation of water resources.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How sustainable is lithium? |url=https://www.schroders.com/en-gb/uk/intermediary/insights/how-sustainable-is-lithium-/ |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=www.schroders.com |language=en-gb}}</ref><ref name=udec>{{Cite book |title=¿Cómo se forman las aguas ricas en litio en el Salar de Atacama? |last1=Álvarez Amado |first1=Fernanda |publisher=[[University of Concepción|Universidad de Concepción]] |year=2023 |language=Spanish |trans-title=How does the lithium-rich waters of Salar de Atacama form?|series=Serie Comunicacional CRHIAM |last2=Poblete González |first2=Camila |last3=Matte Estrada |first3=Daniel |last4=Campos Quiroz |first4=Dilan |last5=Tardani |first5=Daniele |last6=Gutiérrez |first6=Leopoldo |last7=Arumí |first7=José Luis|page=22}}</ref>

In the United States, [[open-pit mining]] and [[mountaintop removal mining]] compete with [[Brine mining|brine extraction mining]].<ref name="nyt-20210506">{{cite news |title=The Lithium Gold Rush: Inside the Race to Power Electric Vehicles |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/06/business/lithium-mining-race.html |access-date=6 May 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=6 May 2021 |archive-date=6 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506143008/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/06/business/lithium-mining-race.html |url-status=live}}</ref>  Environmental concerns include wildlife habitat degradation, potable water pollution including [[arsenic]] and [[antimony]] contamination, unsustainable [[water table]] reduction, and massive [[mining waste]], including radioactive [[uranium]] byproduct and [[sulfuric acid]] discharge.

During 2021, a [[2021–2022 Serbian environmental protests|series of mass protests]] broke out in Serbia against the construction of a lithium mine in Western Serbia by the [[Rio Tinto (corporation)|Rio Tinto]] corporation.<ref>{{Cite web|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=2021-12-05|title=Rio Tinto lithium mine: thousands of protesters block roads across Serbia|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/05/rio-tinto-lithium-mine-thousands-of-protesters-block-roads-across-serbia|access-date=2021-12-08|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref> In 2024, an EU backed lithium mining project created large scale [[2024 Serbian environmental protests|protests in Serbia]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ferreira Santos |first1=Sofia |title=Thousands protest against lithium mining in Serbia |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cged9qgwrvyo |access-date=13 August 2024 |agency=BBC |date=10 August 2024}}</ref>

Some animal species associated to salt lakes in the [[Lithium Triangle]] are particularly threatened by the damages of lithium production to the local [[ecosystem]], including the [[Andean flamingo]]<ref name=imperilled>{{cite journal |doi=10.1038/d41586-018-05233-7 |pmid=29789737 |title=Chilean Atacama site imperilled by lithium mining |journal=Nature |volume=557 |issue=7706 |pages=492 |year=2018 |last1=Gutiérrez |first1=Jorge S |last2=Navedo |first2=Juan G |last3=Soriano-Redondo |first3=Andrea |bibcode=2018Natur.557..492G |doi-access=free}}</ref> and ''[[Orestias parinacotensis]]'', a small fish locally known as "karachi".<ref>{{Cite news |title=Karachi, el raro pez chileno del altiplano que vive en salares y peligra por la extracción del litio |last=Jerez |first=Sara |date=2024-11-20 |url=https://www.biobiochile.cl/especial/aqui-tierra/noticias/2024/11/20/karachi-el-raro-pez-chileno-del-altiplano-que-vive-en-salares-y-peligra-por-la-extraccion-del-litio.shtml |access-date=2024-12-13 |work=[[Radio Bío-Bío]] |language=es}}</ref>

=== Human rights issues ===
A study of relationships between lithium extraction companies and indigenous peoples in Argentina indicated that the state may not have protected indigenous peoples' right to [[Free, prior and informed consent|free prior and informed consent]], and that extraction companies generally controlled community access to information and set the terms for discussion of the projects and benefit sharing.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Marchegiani |last2=Morgera |last3=Parks |date=November 21, 2019 |title=Indigenous peoples'rights to natural resources in Argentina: the challenges of impact assessment, consent and fair andequitable benefit-sharing in cases of lithium mining |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337431438 |journal=The International Journal of Human Rights}}</ref>

In Zimbabwe, the global increase in lithium prices in the early 2020s triggered a 'lithium fever', that led to conflicts between small-scale artisanal miners and large-scale mining companies, often Chinese-owned, backed by the Zimbabwean government which had an interest in attracting foreign investments. Artisanal miners occupied parts of the [[Sandawana mines]] and a privately owned lithium claim area in [[Goromonzi]], a rural area close to the capital [[Harare]]. The artisanal miners were later evicted after the area was cordoned off and shut down by Zimbabwe’s Environmental Management Agency.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mkodzongi |first=Grasian |date=March 21, 2025 |title=Local inclusion and regulatory control key to sustainable mining : Lessons learnt from China's scramble for Zimbabwe's lithium reserves |url=https://nai.uu.se/stories-and-events/news/2025-03-21-local-inclusion-and-regulatory-control-key-to-sustainable-mining.html |journal=NAI Policy Notes 2025:3, the Nordic Africa Institute}}</ref>

Development of the [[Thacker Pass Lithium Mine|Thacker Pass lithium mine]] in Nevada, United States, has met with protests and lawsuits from several indigenous tribes who have said they were not provided free prior and informed consent and that the project threatens cultural and sacred sites.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Price |first=Austin |date=Summer 2021 |title=The Rush for White Gold |url=https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/magazine/entry/the-rush-for-white-gold/ |journal=Earth Island Journal |access-date=29 October 2021 |archive-date=29 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029004245/https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/magazine/entry/the-rush-for-white-gold/ |url-status=live}}</ref> They have also expressed concerns that development of the project will create risks to indigenous women, because resource extraction is linked to [[Missing and murdered Indigenous women|missing and murdered indigenous women]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chadwell |first=Jeri |date=July 21, 2021 |title=Judge to decide on injunction request to halt work on Thacker Pass lithium mine |work=This is Reno |url=https://thisisreno.com/2021/07/judge-to-decide-on-injunction-request-to-halt-work-on-thacker-pass-lithium-mine/ |access-date=October 12, 2021 |archive-date=29 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029101346/https://thisisreno.com/2021/07/judge-to-decide-on-injunction-request-to-halt-work-on-thacker-pass-lithium-mine/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Protestors have been occupying the site of the proposed mine since January 2021.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Thacker Pass Lithium mine approval draws around-the-clock protest |url=https://sierranevadaally.org/2021/01/19/thacker-pass-lithium-mine-approval-draws-around-the-clock-protest/ |access-date=March 16, 2021 |work=Sierra Nevada Ally |date=January 19, 2021 |archive-date=29 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029145314/https://www.sierranevadaally.org/2021/01/19/thacker-pass-lithium-mine-approval-draws-around-the-clock-protest/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nyt-20210506" />