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In 2021, the lithium revenues were US$936.1 million. [15] The process involves pumping up lithium rich brine from below the ground into shallow pans. Water is evaporated thanks to the strong sun and dry air. [16] The brine contains many different dissolved ions, and as the concentration increases, salts precipitate out of solution and sink.
The brine may be seawater, other surface water, groundwater, or hyper-saline solutions from several industries (e.g., textile industries). [1] It differs from solution mining or in-situ leaching in that those methods inject water or chemicals to dissolve materials which are in a solid state; in brine mining, the materials are already dissolved.
Petrolithium is lithium derived from petroleum brine, the mineral-rich salt solution that is brought to the surface during oil and gas production and exploration. Oil companies manage petroleum brine as a waste product, usually by reinjecting the brine back into the ground for enhanced oil recovery or disposal.
Chile's Atacama salt flat is sinking at a rate of 1 to 2 centimeters (0.4 to 0.8 inches) per year due to lithium brine extraction, according to a study by the University of Chile. The study used ...
The new plan seeks to employ direct lithium extraction (DLE) - a technology that promises to be more sustainable by reinjecting the brine back into the ground once the mineral is extracted.
There are concerns that lithium producers are drawing too much lithium-rich brine, or saltwater, from pools beneath the Atacama, the world's driest desert. A water fight in Chile's Atacama raises ...
In the Salar de Atacama in the Atacama Desert of Northern Chile, lithium carbonate and hydroxide are produced from brine. [22] [23] The process pumps lithium rich brine from below ground into shallow pans for evaporation. The brine contains many different dissolved ions, and as their concentration increases, salts precipitate out of solution ...
Chile is the main producer of lithium from brine. [14] Until 2017, when it was surpassed by Australia, Chile was the over-all main producer of lithium. [15] By one estimate Chile will be surpassed also by Argentina and China in lithium production by 2030. [15]