Lithium: The Most Critical Mineral

Abstract

Lithium is a very critical mineral in today’s economy. With a newfound interest in lithium for the growing market of batteries for electric vehicles, accessible lithium with traditional mining methods is not enough to keep up with this emerging demand. Traditional lithium mining techniques include hard-rock mining and solar evaporation from brine ponds, but new ways include extracting lithium from brine directly without additional process steps – termed Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE). This paper provides a history and overview of lithium materials as well as insight into the emerging techniques involved in DLE and how they affect the lithium supply chain and lithium battery market. Additionally, the various market players and how they approach the emergence of DLE technologies will be covered.