Frequently asked questions
Lithium
What is Lithium?
Lithium is a soft, silvery metal with the lowest density of all metals. It has the symbol Li, an atomic number of 3 and sits in the alkali metal column of the periodic table. Lithium is rarely found by itself and in industry it is used in lithium carbonate & lithium hydroxide.
What is it used for?
Lithium is a highly versatile element and is used in a myriad of industries. The most important use of lithium is in rechargeable batteries for mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras and electric vehicles. Lithium is also used in some non-rechargeable batteries for things like heart pacemakers and clocks.
Lithium hydride is used as a means of storing hydrogen for use as a fuel. Lithium oxide is used in special glasses and glass ceramics. Lithium chloride is one of the most hygroscopic (absorb moisture from the air) materials known and is used in air conditioning and industrial drying systems (as is lithium bromide).
Lithium metal is also made into alloys with aluminium and magnesium, improving their strength and making them lighter. Aluminium-lithium alloys are used in aircraft, bicycle frames and high-speed trains.
Lithium stearate is used as an all-purpose and high-temperature lubricant. Lithium carbonate is used in drugs to treat manic depression, although its action on the brain is still not fully understood.
How is Lithium found in nature?
Lithium in nature is found in two different geological settings, hard rock deposits and brine deposits.
Hard rock deposits host lithium is as a component of ore minerals like spodumene, petalite and lepidolite. These minerals are hosted in a granite like rock known as pegmatite. This is the deposit type we have in Ireland.
Brine deposits host lithium in saline groundwater which is enriched in the metal. This is evaporated out of the saline groundwater and is concentrated as lithium carbonate.
How is it mined?
How lithium is mined depends on the geological setting in which it is found.
In the case of hard rock lithium deposits, the ore is excavated and crushed. This material is then sent to a processing plant. Here the crushed material is roasted to 1100°C. It is then cooled to 65°C, milled and roasted again, this time with sulfuric acid, at 250°C, a process known as acid leaching. During this last step, the hydrogen in the sulfuric acid is replaced with lithium ions, to produce lithium sulfate and an insoluble residue. Lime is added for the removal of magnesium (a constituent element in spodumene), and soda ash is used to precipitate lithium carbonate from the final purified, filtered solution.
In the case of a brine deposit, lithium is sourced in brines found in the subsurface of large salt flats or salars. If the salar is underground the salar must be drilled to bring the brine to the surface. Once at the surface it is distributed into large evaporation ponds. These evaporation ponds are on average 3m deep, 300m wide and 1000m long. The brine remains in the evaporation pond for a period of months or years until most of the liquid water content has been removed through solar evaporation. Undesirable sodium and potassium salts are then carefully removed from the evaporation pond. This leaves a lithium concentrated brine in the evaporation pond. This process is then repeated to further concentrate and purify the lithium brine. Once the brine is sufficiently concentrated in lithium it is then processed in a lithium extraction plant. This process removes contaminants and precipitates out any byproducts. Finally, sodium carbonate is added to the brine to precipitate out the final product, lithium carbonate.
Only hard rock lithium deposits can be found in the Avalonia project. Spodumene can be excavated either in open pit, or underground mine style. How a deposit is mined is largely determined by the size and the geometry of the deposit, as well as the topography of the area. The exploration process is not just limited to discovering new deposits, but also to gather enough information to make this determination.
Where is Lithium currently mined?
The majority of the world’s lithium comes from Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, otherwise known as the ‘Lithium Triangle’. Up to 60% of the world’s estimated lithium is found there. Here they are sourced from large continental brine deposits. Australia produces most of the worlds hard rock lithium in the form of spodumene. This type of deposit is commonly found throughout North America and Europe.
There is a significant interest in lithium exploration worldwide, due to the projected increase in demand to meet the needs for the green transition. In Europe alone we are seeing lithium exploration projects in Austria, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, Scotland, England and Ireland.
Frequently asked questions
Exploration in Ireland
Below are a number of common questions about mineral exploration and prospecting. Both the Institute of Geologist of Ireland (IGI) and the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) have great resources and information about mineral exploration and mining in Ireland.
https://www.gsi.ie/en-ie/programmes-and-projects/minerals/Pages/default.aspx
https://igi.ie/committees/minerals-information-working-group/
The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, which regulates and oversees mineral exploration in Ireland also provides a lot of information on the topic, as well as regulatory and guideline documents.
https://www.gov.ie/en/policy-information/28d9da-mineral-exploration-and-mining/
What is mineral exploration/prospecting?
Mineral exploration/prospecting is the activity of exploring the subsurface for an economic deposit of minerals. A number of techniques are used by geologists to ascertain this, such as geological mapping, geophysical surveying, geochemical sampling and drilling. It can take many years and many rounds of exploration to determine of a deposit is economic, and many exploration projects are not successful.
What techniques are used in mineral exploration?
The geological survey of Ireland provides a comprehensive explanation of the different techniques used in mineral exploration, see the link below.
Who can explore for minerals in Ireland?
Anyone, from individuals to companies, can explore for minerals by applying for a prospecting licence from the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC). Mineral exploration is a costly activity and can take many years to carry out, without any guarantee of finding an economic deposit. As a result, prospecting licences are usually applied for by companies.
What is a Prospecting Licence?
A prospecting licence (PL) is a licence issued by the DECC Minister that allows the holder to explore for minerals in a defined geographic area usually around 35km2, referred to as a prospecting licence area (PLA). Prospecting licences are normally issued with a number of requirements, such as evidence of technical capability and financial viability, rationale for why particular minerals are being sought, and an appropriate exploration programme for those minerals. The licensee must also commit to minimum exploration expenditure.
A prospecting licence is issued for 6 years after which it has to be renewed pending a review by the DECC. While the prospecting licence does confer the holder the right to explore for minerals anywhere in the PLA, outside of Natura 2000 sites, permission to access land must be sought from the relevant landowner. Prospecting activities must also be approved by the Geoscience Regulation Office (GSRO) pending certain requirements have been met such as environmental screening.
What is the difference between mineral exploration and mining?
Prospecting differs to mining as it is the activity of exploring for minerals as opposed to the activity of removing minerals from the ground. If, after extensive mineral exploration has been carried out, an economic deposit has been discovered in an area, a number of permits and authorisations must be applied for, generally in this order:
1. Planning permission from the relevant Local Authority
2. An Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) or an Industrial Emissions (IE) Licence from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These licences contain strict conditions on how a mine must operate to protect the environment from pollution.
3. A mining lease or licence issued by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications.
Authorisation for a proposed mine and associated processing, waste storage facilities and infrastructure is subject to rigorous examination and public participation. Both the planning and IPC/IE licensing processes involve public consultation and any public concerns relating to the impacts of mining on the environment, tourism, agriculture, etc., should be raised at these stages. A State Mining Facility would only be issued after planning and IPC/IE permissions have been granted. Safeguarding the environment is a core consideration. Applicants for State Mining Facilities are required to demonstrate that they have the necessary financial and technical capability to work the minerals effectively and provide for orderly rehabilitation of the mine area when mining has ceased. They are also required to show that an adequate reserve of minerals has been defined, such as can be reasonably expected to support a viable mining operation, and that they have made arrangements to obtain any necessary ancillary rights, such as access and surface rights. Applications are very detailed with many technical reports from expert and international consultants. Typically, application and authorisation documents are available to be viewed online. The proposal is subject to local, national and EU legislation.
Does mineral exploration always lead to a mine?
It’s important to note that prospecting does not inevitably lead to mining. Since the late 1940s, thousands of PLs have been issued across Ireland, and currently, one fifth of Ireland’s land area is covered by active PLs. Despite such wide-ranging exploration activity, only a small number of metal mining operations have been developed. According to information published by the Institute of Geologists of Ireland (IGI), the likelihood of an exploration programme resulting in the discovery of a suitable concentration of minerals to warrant mining is about 1 in 5,000.
What are the environmental implications, if any, of mineral exploration?
All mineral exploration activities take place within a framework of Irish and EU legislation that have been implemented to ensure that the environment is protected. Prospecting Licence holders must comply with all relevant legislation including:
- EC (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations, 2011 (SI No 477 of 2011)
- EC Environmental Objectives (Groundwater) Regulations, 2010 (SI No 9 of 2010)
- EC Environmental Objectives (Surface Water) Regulations, 2009 (SI No 272 of 2009)
- EU (Appropriate Assessment) (Minerals Development Act 1940) (Amendment Regulations
2018 (SI No 385 of 2018) - EU (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Minerals Development Act 1940) (Amendment Regulations 2018 (SI No 384 of 2018)
- EU (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Minerals Development Act 1940) (Amendment Regulations 2019 (SI No 164 of 2019)
In addition, licensees should follow the Department’s guidance for good environmental practice in mineral exploration as part of its Prospecting Licence conditions. All proposed exploration activities are the subject of environmental screening co-ordinated by the Geoscience Regulation Office (GSRO) and carried out by independent environmental contractors to ensure that they will not give rise to any significant adverse effects on the environment.