Lithium

Product Description

Lithium
Lithium is an element valuable for the production of glass, aluminum products, and batteries.  It is mined from ores of petalite LiAl(Si2O5)2, lepidolite K(Li,Al)3(Al,Si,Rb)4O*0(F,OH)2, spodumene LiAl(SiO3)2 and also subsurface brines. Australia and Chile are the worlds largest producers of lithium.

Type
Element (Minerals/Ores of).

Mineral Classification
Silicate.

Chemical Formula
 (LiAl(Si2O5)2, lepidolite K(Li,Al)3(Al,Si,Rb)4O*0(F,OH)2, spodumene LiAl(SiO3)2

Streak
White, colorless (petalite)
Mohs Hardness
2.**3 (lepidolite), **6.5 (petalite), 6.**7 (spodumene).
Crystal System Monoclinic.

Color
Purple, rosy, silver, gray (lepidolite), grey, pink (petalite), grayish white, pale purple, pale green (spodumene).

Luster
Vitreous, pearly
Fracture
Subconchoidal (petalite and spodumene), uneven (lepidolite).

Description
Lithium is an element valuable for the production of glass, aluminum products, and batteries.  It is mined from ores of petalite (LiAl(Si2O5)2, lepidolite K(Li,Al)3(Al,Si,Rb)4O*0(F,OH)2, spodumene LiAl(SiO3)2 and also subsurface brines. Australia and Chile are the worlds largest producers of lithium.

Relation to Mining
Lithium is an element valuable for the production of glass, aluminum products, and batteries.  It is mined from ores of petalite (LiAl(Si2O5)2, lepidolite K(Li,Al)3(Al,Si,Rb)4O*0(F,OH)2, spodumene LiAl(SiO3)2 and also subsurface brines. Australia and Chile are the worlds largest producers of lithium.
Mining for Lithium:
Lithium is often recovered from brine, or water with a high concentration of lithium carbonate. Subsurface brines trapped in the Earths crust are a major source material for lithium carbonate. These sources are less expensive to mine than from rock such as spodumene, petalite, and other lithium-bearing minerals.

Brine production of lithium begins by first pumping the brine into evaporative ponds. Over *2 to *8 months, concentration of the brine increases to 6,**0 ppm Li through solar evaporation. When the lithium chloride reaches optimum concentration, the liquid is pumped to a recovery plant and treated with soda ash, precipitating lithium carbonate, which is then filtrated, dried, and shipped.

Uses
Lithium compounds are used in ceramics and glass, in primary aluminum production, in the manufacture of lubricants and greases, rocket propellants, vitamin A synthesis, silver solders, underwater buoyancy devices, and increasingly in batteries.
Lithium batteries are proving to be an effective and affordable alternative to traditional batteries, and also used in new battery applications.  More than *0% of lithium mined is used in batteries.  This use has recently increased rapidly spurring an increase in lithium mining to provide the lithium for batteries.
Lithium is mixed with other light metals such as aluminum and magnesium to form strong, light-weight alloys (an alloy is a mixture of metals).
Some lithium, in the form of lithium carbonate or lithium citrate, is used as medicine to treat gout (an inflammation of joints) and to treat serious mental illness.