A Tale of Two Lithiums
Lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide are types of lithium used in batteries that come from a chemical extraction process from lithium deposits. But not all lithium is created equal. Lithium deposits come mainly in two forms, brines which are found under dry lakebeds, or "salars," and hard-rock pegmatite deposits. Lithium generally produced from brines are more expensive to produce, so hard rock lithium which comes from lithium hosted from spodumene pegmatite dikes is becoming the more common source of lithium production because: :
Cost
Unlike lithium sourced from brines which can initially only be processed into lithium carbonate, the Company’s lithium hosted in spodumene pegmatite sources can be cost-effectively processed directly into either lithium hydroxide or lithium carbonate.
Speed
Lithium production sourced from brine recovery is typically a very lengthy process that can take anywhere from several months to a few years to complete. Lithium hosted in spodumene pegmatite resources can be processed daily into several tons of battery-grade lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide.
Flexibility
Foremost’s Lithium hosted from spodumene pegmatites can be initially processed into lithium hydroxide or carbonite, while brines can only initially be processed in carbonate.
Lithium is an essential part of lithium-ion batteries that are used in electric vehicles (EVs). The need for a consistent supply for lithium should not be underscored by the importance it plays in our everyday lives. We use lithium batteries in our mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras, power tools, medical treatment to treat bipolar disorder and battery storage of energy generated from wind and solar power. The electric vehicle market by far has been the biggest catalyst driving the surge in demand. The great news for a hard-rock lithium miner such as Foremost Lithium, is the trend towards lithium hydroxide derived from spodumene pegmatite dykes continues to increase as it’s proving to be the most cost effective and efficient choice for this battery metal.