How Eco-friendly is "White Gold"?

 

In reality, running an electric vehicle doesn't require a lot of lithium.  A mid-sized battery weighing 300 kilos (50 kWh) only has eight kilograms of light metal in it.

However, demand for the element, which is required to make batteries, is rising as the electric car industry grows more quickly than many anticipated. That is problematic because lithium extraction projects can be contentious and require years to develop.

Because open-pit mines can damage water supplies and destroy landscapes, some projects have been faced with opposition.

In 2016, 43,000 metric tons of lithium were mined globally, according to the German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA). By 2022, that quantity had increased threefold to 130,000 metric tons, and by 2030, according to the organization, the amount mined could have more than quadrupled once more.

The issue now, according to DERA lithium expert Michael Schmidt, is how to sustainably extract enough battery-grade lithium to satisfy demand. There are dynamics at work that, in my prior 12 years of resource management, I had never seen before.

Lithium, which is frequently referred to as "white gold" due to its high market value and silver color, is truly widely distributed throughout the crust of the earth. Around 200 billion tons of light metal, according to researchers, are present in the oceans of the globe. 

It is estimated that there are 98 million metric tons of deposits in salt lakes and rocks on land, of which 26 million could be reasonably mined in the ensuing decades.

In 2022, mining solid rock in Australia's open-pit mines supplied 47% of the world's lithium needs, compared to 15% from China, 35% from saline lakes in South America, and less than 1% from each of Zimbabwe, Portugal, and North America.

The Salt Lakes are a source of lithium

The underground salt lakes of Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile are home to the biggest lithium deposits in the world, with a total estimated metal content of 42 million tons. The US Geological Survey's early data indicates that there were about 45,000 tons of mined materials there in 2022.

The sun will evaporate the salty brine in up to two years after it is poured from the deep into enormous basins. After filtering the concentrated brine, lithium carbonate—a crucial component in the creation of batteries—is chemically removed. According to a study by the Swedish Environmental Research Institute, the CO2 emissions from this extraction technique are relatively low, ranging from 50 to 100 kg of CO2 for a car battery (50 kWh).

However, issues with drinking water can result from this method of lithium extraction. Groundwater levels may decrease as a result of brine pumping, while wetlands and waterway courses may dry up. There are places where there isn't enough water for farming.