Where lithium is used
Lithium, its compounds and alloys are critically needed for the automotive industry, aircraft industry, metallurgy, microelectronics, chemistry and others. It is especially important in the production of high-capacity batteries. This metal is used even for the production of psychotropic drugs for medical purposes.
In addition, lithium is necessary in the heavy industry: it is used there for smelting and alloying aluminum, increasing plasticity, strength and reducing metals.
And it's also needed in nuclear power. Lithium is the only available source of tritium; it is also used in the manufacture of rods that regulate the reactor protection system.
Why the demand for lithium in electronics may be declining
For 2023, lithium is in great demand in various sectors of the economy, however, at least in the high-tech sector, the lithium path is close to completion.
Until now, the development of microelectronics has followed a relatively dead-end path. Devices are becoming more complicated, but they consume more and more energy, a significant part of which is lost, turning into thermal.
To reduce energy consumption, major technology companies are constantly working to reduce the technological process - when a certain number of transistors are placed as compactly as possible on a certain area.
And these efforts have already reached their limit, which cannot be overcome in the next few years.
In 2021, IBM announced the creation of a 2nm processor, which has not yet entered mass production. Soon, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Taiwanese TSMC announced the development of technology to create 1-nm microchips, but this project so far exists only in words.
However, when the 1 nm process is still on the market, the limit will be reached, and the role of lithium will be significantly reduced.
Tech giants are already working for this prospect. Back in 2015, the company Apple patented the creation of graphene batteries, and two years later they followed suit. Samsung
There is also another type of promising battery - atomic batteries. They were a breakthrough for devices and conditions that require uninterrupted power supply for a long time: pacemakers, spacecraft, underwater systems and polar stations. So far, they are inaccessible to the average consumer due to the high cost and non-proliferation, but they are already being used, and their scope will expand.
Stocks
2023: Lithium on Earth - many billions of tons
Lithium on Earth is more than enough - many billions of tons that humanity will not be able to consume in thousands of years with the most rapid development of industry.
But there is a significant problem: most of it is dissolved in seawater. As of 2023, no country has the technology to economically extract metal from it. That is why its extraction on the surface is so important.
2022: Countries leading the way in lithium reserves and production
The "triangle" of South America and Mexico as of April 2022 accounted for 60% of the world's deposits:
2021: Countries with the most lithium production
Chronicle
2024: Miners abandon plans to boost production after battery lithium price crash
In January 2024, the price of lithium falls amid slowing Chinese demand for electric vehicles. Miners are cutting costs and ditching plans to boost production after the price of battery metal fell by more than 80% in 12 months.
2023
Global lithium production has increased 5-fold in 9 years. Top 10 directions of its use
On June 19, 2024, it became known that over the past nine years, global lithium production has increased fivefold, reaching 180 thousand tons. It is expected that by 2030 this figure may exceed 470 thousand tons. This is due to the growing digitalization of the economy and an increase in demand for electronic devices and electric vehicles.
According to the HSE Institute for Statistical Research and Knowledge Economics, lithium-ion batteries for portable electronics and electric vehicles have become key applications of lithium. Lithium-ion batteries remain the most in demand due to their high performance and long life.
According to the ISIEZ website, the third place is occupied by the use of lithium in stationary installations for storing electricity. These systems are especially in demand to stabilize power generation and ensure a reliable supply of remote and isolated areas.
The fourth direction is the production of ceramics, where lithium is used to reduce the firing temperature of products. The fifth place is occupied by the production of glass, including optical and heat-resistant species, which also requires the addition of lithium compounds.
In sixth place is the production of metal alloys and flux powders for steel casting. Lithium-aluminum alloys are in demand in the aerospace industry. The seventh place is occupied by the use of lithium in dentistry, where it is used to make dentures.
Eighth place is occupied by the production of components for aircraft, where lithium is used in light and durable alloys. The ninth place is taken by the use of lithium in the production of drugs, including the treatment of mental illness. The use of lithium in industrial lubricants, which are necessary for various production processes, closes the top ten.[1]
75% sharp decline in lithium prices
By October 2023, lithium prices had fallen year-to-date by about 70%, easing concerns about battery costs but jeopardizing long-term supplies - the WSJ.
Later in November, lithium continued a nearly month-long run of falls, taking its 2023 drop to 75%.
Russia accounts for 10% of the world's lithium reserves
Accounting for Russia 10% of the world's lithium reserves. Such data are given in the report " Roscongressa The remaining charge: will the new economy have enough lithium," which is referred to on September 4, 2023. "RIA Novosti
According to the authors of the study, the in-place reserves of lithium in Russia, taken into account in the ores of 14 deposits, amount to 3.5 million tons of lithium oxide, and another 1 million are off-balance reserves in the country as a whole. Alkali metal deposits have also been discovered in the following states:
- Chile;
- Bolivia;
- Argentina;
- UNITED STATES;
- Congo;
- China;
- Brazil;
- Australia;
- Serbia;
- Afghanistan.
In the case of Russia, more than half of the local lithium reserves are concentrated in the northern Murmansk region. Relatively large deposits are explored in the south, in Dagestan - these are Yuzhno-Sukhokumskoye (where production and production volumes can theoretically reach up to 5000-6000 tons/year), Berikeyskoye and Tarumovskoye. Lithium was also found in Yakutia and Eastern Siberia.
 | Due to the development of existing deposits, Russia may enter the top 5 largest lithium producers in the next decade, second only to Chile, Argentina, China and Australia. In the future, production volumes may grow even more if the technologies developed in the Russian Federation for extracting lithium from solutions are effective, the Roscongress report says. |  |
Experts also point to a significant shortage of lithium in the Russian Federation by September 2023. Russia has been completely dependent on lithium imports since 1997, when a mine in the Krasnoyarsk Territory was closed, they say.
| | There has been no own production since then, and last year the country faced difficulties in import purchases, when Argentina and Chile refused to supply lithium to Russia, the authors of the report explain.[2] | |
Rosatom agreed on lithium production in Bolivia for $600 million
Uranium One (U1), part of the state corporation Rosatom, won a tender for the development of a lithium deposit in Bolivia. The press service of Rosatom announced this on June 29, 2023. Read more here.
Technology developed for lithium production from old oil fields
In mid-June 2023, the Canadian company Volt Lithium announced the development of a new technology for the extraction of lithium from old oil fields. The proposed method is expected to provide higher efficiency at a lower cost than conventional methods. Read more here.
Iran reveals world's second-largest lithium deposit
In early March 2023, information appeared that one of the world's largest lithium deposits was discovered in Iran. According to Iran's Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade (MIMT), the field could contain about 8.5 million tons of recoverable lithium, making it the second largest on the planet. With this in mind, Iran is ahead of Australia and in March 2023 ranks second in the world in lithium reserves after Chile.
MIMT's head of exploration Ebrahim Ali Molabeigi, said even more lithium ore reserves could be in Hamedan, a region with large clay deposits. In addition, Molabeigi hopes that Iran will find an economically viable way to extract these raw materials due to its growing demand in global markets. Molabeigi added that in today's world, this strategic and valuable metal is of great importance for the development of advanced technologies. This mineral is commonly found in clay terrain, making the discovered deposits unique to our entire country.
| | In today's world, this strategic and valuable metal is of great importance for the development of advanced technologies. In metallurgy, lithium is used to deoxidize and increase the ductility and strength of alloys. In optics, lithium is used to make glasses that protect against ultraviolet rays. In nuclear power and nuclear engineering, it is used to obtain a radioactive isotope of hydrogen - tritium, - said the head of the geological exploration department of MIMT Ebrahim Ali Molabeigi. | |
According to the BBC, 2023 year lithium 40% goes to batteries, 26% - to the production of ceramic products and glass, 13% - to the production of lubricants, 7% -metallurgy, 4% - air conditioning systems, 3% - medicine and polymers. The leaders in the world's explored reserves are Bolivia 21 million tons, Argentina 19 million tons, Chile 9.6 million tons, the USA 9.1 million tons, Australia 7.3 million tons, China 5.1 million tons and Russia 1 million tons[3] what [4]
India Says World's Largest Lithium Deposit Discovered
In mid-February 2023, Indian authorities announced the discovery of the world's largest lithium deposit. The volume of lithium in the deposits found in the states of Jammu and Kashmir is reported to be 5.9 million tonnes.
Lithium is a key component of rechargeable batteries, powering numerous gadgets such as smartphones and laptops, as well as electric vehicles. Until February 2023, in everything involving lithium imports, India depended on Australia and Argentina. Imported lithium accounts for about 80% of the total lithium used in the country.
At the beginning of 2023, the largest lithium deposits were located in - the Chile Bolivia world's largest salt marsh Uyuni is located here, the reserves of which are estimated at 21 million tons, as well as in Argentina,,,,, USA Congo China Brazil Serbia and Australia. Lithium is extracted from hard rock and underground brine tanks. World Bank Production of minerals needed to transition to clean energy could increase by 500% between 2020 and 2050, data shows.
Lithium demand will rise 6-fold between 2021 and 2040 due to growing interest in electric vehicles and renewable technologies, according to the International Lithium Association. Thus, in Europe, the level of carbon dioxide emitted by transport by 2025 should be reduced by 15%, and by 2030 - to 37.5% in total in comparison with the current situation.
This is the first major discovery of lithium in India, the only other was a small deposit of 1.6 thousand tons, discovered in Karnataka in 2021. As India seeks to become a major competitor in the development of electric vehicles, the discovery could improve its position. The Indian government noted the discovery as part of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's move since 2014 to "aatmanirbhar," a slogan that translates to "self-sufficiency."[5]
2022: Mexico puts all lithium reserves under state control
On April 19, 2022, the plenum of the upper house of the Mexican Congress approved, in general, a reform of the mining law, establishing lithium as a national treasure and transferring to the state the exclusive rights to its exploration, development and industrial use.
The draft reform, which was initiated by the country's president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, identifies lithium exploration, mining and use as an industry of national importance where private companies are not granted any concessions, licenses, contracts or permits. In 2023, the state-owned company LitioMx should be created.
2021: Rising consumption of rare earth lithium
Notes
- ↑ Top 10 Lithium Applications
- ↑ Russia may enter the top 5 lithium producers in the world
- ↑ [https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/06/iran-says-its-discovered-worlds-second-largest-lithium-deposit.html. Iran says it's discovered
- ↑ could be the world's second-largest lithium deposit]
- ↑ India announces discovery of 5.9 million tonnes of lithium
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