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Lithium is a non-metallic mineral that is widely used in the manufacture of electric vehicles, but it is also vulnerable to water stress and hard to mine. As a result, the cost of electric vehicles is increasingly high, and one of the best ways to address this problem is by creating a lithium miner.
Lithium is a non-metallic mineral
Lithium is a mineral that is used to make rechargeable batteries for electric cars. The demand for lithium is expected to triple by 2020. It is found in lithium brines and hard rock deposits, which are widespread in nature, mostly in South America. In addition, lithium is found in pegmatites, a geological formation that forms when mineral-rich magma intrudes into Earth’s crust. When this process occurs, water and other minerals are concentrated, which creates lithium clay.
Lithium is commonly mined from underground saline deposits. Once mined, the dissolved salts are then pumped to the surface and dried in desert heat. After being processed, lithium metal is separated from its salts and used in permanent magnet motors and induction motors, which use copper coils as the primary energy source.
Lithium is also a non-metallic mineral that is crucial to the production of electric cars. Lithium is a key ingredient for batteries, and its extraction requires lithium and a non-metallic mineral known as cobalt.
It’s vulnerable to water stress
The production of lithium is highly dependent on the availability of water. The extraction process requires at least two million litres of water per tonne of lithium. However, recent studies have found a negative correlation between lithium extraction activities and soil moisture index – a proxy for drought conditions. These results show that lithium mining is highly vulnerable to water stress. This issue will require new approaches to extract lithium from water.
Environmental experts say that the mining process should be environmentally and socially sustainable. Indigenous rights should be respected and governments should consider moratoria on mines in sensitive ecosystems. In Chile, movements are articulating a vision of how mining should be conducted. Opsal, for example, links environmental activists across the lithium triangle. Opsal aims to regulate lithium mining operations holistically, preserving its intrinsic ecological, scientific and cultural value.
As water is an essential resource for lithium mining, local communities have warned of the detrimental effects of lithium mining. This is a serious concern because the mining process is a significant source of pollution.
It’s difficult to mine
The environmental impact of lithium mining for electric cars is huge. In Germany alone, the production of one 500 kilogram battery for an electric car contributes to 70 percent of the country’s total emissions. The mining process also consumes huge amounts of water. In Salar de Atacama, Chile, lithium mining uses more than half of the water there. This has put many farming activities on hold.
The mining process also destroys the soil’s natural structure and destroys plant life. As a result, lithium mining threatens local ecosystems and water resources. Furthermore, the mining process uses up to 70,000 liters of water per ton. And the transportation of the brine from Chile to China for processing creates huge amounts of carbon dioxide.
Lithium itself is not scarce. In fact, a recent BNEF2 report estimates that there are about 21 million tons of lithium reserves – more than enough for EVs through the mid-century period. However, lithium reserves represent the quantity of the resource that can be extracted economically under current prices, technology, and regulatory requirements. As the demand for electric cars increases, so do the available reserves of lithium.