The first lithium carbonate has been produced from UK sources at Cornish Lithium’s Trelavour project in Cornwall and another from an undisclosed area in Scotland.
DOMESTIC SUPPLY PROJECT
The 18-month Li4UK (securing a domestic lithium supply chain for the UK) project involved a scoping study covering sites hosting potentially suitable lithium mineralisation in hard rock and geothermal waters.
Parties involved included Cornish Lithium Ltd, Wardell Armstrong International Ltd (WAI), and the Natural History Museum (NHM).
BATTERY GRADE
NHM and Cornish Lithium collected field samples with assistance from Camborne School of Mines.
Following characterisation and analysis, hard rock samples were evaluated and processed.
Two separate lithium carbonate concentrates were produced and assayed to confirm their purity as near battery grade.
High purity lithium carbonate is a raw material for lithium-ion battery cells such as those used in electric vehicles.
Most of the world’s lithium is currently produced in South America and Australia before being sent to China for processing into lithium chemicals to manufacture lithium-ion batteries.
SUPPLY CHAIN
WAI technical director for mineral processing Ben Simpson said the development of lithium processing technologies was a “huge stepping stone” for the electric vehicle and battery manufacturing industries in the UK.
“It was crucial for the UK to start looking at domestic sources of battery materials and production of lithium-ion batteries, from mine to market; what has been achieved here puts the UK at the forefront of developments in the European battery industry.”
Cornish Lithium chief executive Jeremy Wrathall added that it was possible for the UK to produce a significant percentage of its lithium demand domestically and create a “vertically-integrated supply chain” for the UK.
“Cornwall also provides access to renewable energy from solar and wind, and offers established infrastructure such as rail, road and port facilities – which represent a considerable advantage over other European lithium projects.”
The company is involved in mineral exploration and sustainable extraction of lithium from geothermal waters and hard rock sources.
Li4UK
Li4UK was funded by the Faraday Battery Challenge under the patronage of UK Research and Innovation.
The project aimed to assess the feasibility of producing battery quality lithium from UK sources and to evaluate the potential for building a critical new industry for the country.