LITHIUM

Production Domestic lithium production data were withheld in 2022 to avoid disclosing company proprietary data. Albemarle Corp. produced lithium compounds from domestic brine resources near Silver Peak, NV. U.S. Magnesium LLC produced lithium carbonate from a stockpile of cell salt residue accumulated over the course of 50 years from the production of magnesium in Rowley, UT. Estimated world lithium production (excluding production in the United States) was about 130 kt of lithium content (690 kt lithium carbonate equivalent) recovered from minerals and brines, a 21 percent increase from that of 2021. Six mineral operations in Australia, one mineral tailings operation in Brazil, two brine operations each in Argentina and Chile, and three mineral and two brine operations in China accounted for the majority of world lithium production. Additionally, smaller operations in Brazil, Canada, China, Portugal, the United States and Zimbabwe also contributed to world lithium production. Australia increased its spodumene concentrate production by about 10 percent in 2022 and remained the world’s leading lithium producer. Chile increased its brine-sourced lithium production by about 38 percent in 2022 and was the world’s second leading lithium producer. Owing to the rapid increase in demand and prices of lithium in 2022, established lithium operations worldwide have increased, or are in the process of increasing, production capacity. Consumption World lithium consumption was about 134 kt of lithium contained in minerals and compounds, a 41 percent increase from that of 2021, owing to strong demand from the lithium-ion battery market. Estimated U.S. consumption was about 3 kt of lithium contained in minerals and compounds, rounded to one significant digit to avoid disclosing company proprietary data. The United States was a leading producer of higher-value downstream lithium products such as butyllithium and lithium metal. Estimated global distribution for lithium used in 2022 was batteries, 80 percent; ceramics and glass, 7 percent; lubricating greases, 4 percent; continuous casting mold flux powders, 2 percent; air treatment, 1 percent; medical, 1 percent; and other uses, 5 percent. Lithium’s important properties include low density, high specific heat, low coefficient of thermal expansion, high electrochemical potential and excellent thermal conductivity. Price Spot lithium carbonate prices in China increased from approximately $35,000/t at the beginning of the year to about $70,000/t at year end owing to increased worldwide demand. For large-fixed contracts, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence Ltd. reported an annual average-nominal, battery-grade lithium carbonate price of $37,000/t in 2022, almost three times higher than that in 2021. Foreign trade According to the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. imports of lithium compounds in 2022 were 17.5 kt (gross weight), a 23 percent increase compared with those of 2021. Import sources of lithium chemicals were Chile (53 percent), Argentina (44 percent) and others (3 percent). Exports of lithium compounds from the United States were 15.7 kt, an increase of 32 percent from those of 2021. About 83 percent of all U.S. exports of lithium compounds went to the top five countries: Japan (40 percent), Canada (14 percent), Germany (12 percent), China (9 percent) and Poland (8 percent). Government programs Funded through $1.6 billion from the 2022 U.S. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, 12 lithium-based projects were selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to support new commercial-scale domestic facilities to extract and process lithium, manufacture battery components, recycle batteries and develop new technologies to increase U.S. lithium reserves. Outlook Lithium-ion batteries have rapidly gained importance because of their extensive use in portable electronic devices, portable electric tools, electric scooters and bicycles, hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles (PHEVs), electric vehicles (EVs), and grid storage applications. Increased use of lithium-ion batteries in HEVs, PHEVs and EVs in the past several years have created high demand for lithium chemicals . Lithium supply security has become a top priority for technology companies in Asia, Europe and North America. Strategic alliances and joint ventures among technology companies and exploration companies continued to be established to ensure a reliable, diversified supply of lithium for battery suppliers and vehicle manufacturers. Brine-based lithium sources were in various stages of development or exploration in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, China and the United States; mineralbased lithium sources were in various stages of development or exploration in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Congo (Kinshasa), Czechia, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Mali, Namibia, Nigeria, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, the United States and Zimbabwe; and lithium-clay sources were in various stages of development or exploration in Mexico and the United States.

LITHIUM

Authored by:
B.W. Jaskula

To view the past issues of the UCA magazine you must be a member of SME/UCA.

From sessions to strategy: Revealing long-term and emerging innovation trends in data analytics, intelligent systems and automation

Mining education gets federal boost as industry faces workforce crunch

Critical minerals management on the federal seabed

From sessions to strategy: Revealing long-term and emerging innovation trends in data analytics, intelligent systems and automation

Mining education gets federal boost as industry faces workforce crunch

Critical minerals management on the federal seabed

To view the past issues of the UCA magazine you must be a member of SME/UCA.

LIME

MAGNESIUM COMPOUNDS

Related Articles

Historic day in Washington DC for mining education

Copper stockpiling, transformation capacity and industrial synchronization in the US

From sessions to strategy: Revealing long-term and emerging innovation trends in data analytics, intelligent systems and automation

Critical minerals: Technical and policy considerations

From sessions to strategy: Revealing long-term and emerging innovation trends in data analytics, intelligent systems and automation

Mining education gets federal boost as industry faces workforce crunch

Critical minerals management on the federal seabed

From sessions to strategy: Revealing long-term and emerging innovation trends in data analytics, intelligent systems and automation

Mining education gets federal boost as industry faces workforce crunch

Critical minerals management on the federal seabed

Use Single Sign On