Here is an interesting piece, courtesy of Reuters, about China's growing reliance on domestically mined lepidolite as an alternative route to lithium carbonate.
However, as usual, there is a cost disadvantage in using secondary quality inputs. Separating lithium from lepidolite is approximately twice as costly as from brine and spodumine. If brine and spodumine prices tail off, as additional mines come on line over the next five years, then China's reliance on lepidolite may be uneconomic.
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However, as usual, there is a cost disadvantage in using secondary quality inputs. Separating lithium from lepidolite is approximately twice as costly as from brine and spodumine. If brine and spodumine prices tail off, as additional mines come on line over the next five years, then China's reliance on lepidolite may be uneconomic.
In China's lithium hub, mining boom comes at a cost
The city of Yichun is ground zero in the country's push to cut its reliance on imports of the metal for its battery industry, which makes three-quarters of the world's lithium-ion batteries.
www.reuters.com
Cheers
F