Lithium. Medicine, lubrication, air purification, ceramics, glass, metallurgy, propulsion, and of course... batteries. You most likely have a bit of lithium in your hands while reading this text. We know what it can do and how it behaves when conditions are not ideal, but there are a couple of basic questions we must ask: Where does it come from? How is it extracted? The people at Bloomberg traveled to the beautiful Atacama Desert in Chile and created a short video seeking answers.
With the extraordinary advancement of mobile devices, laptops, and electric cars, not a few wonder if there will be enough lithium to meet demand. For now, its reserves are abundant. Making very rough calculations, world reserves are in the order of 13.5 million tons, and if on average an electric car needs 15 kilograms of lithium, that's about 900 million vehicles. Obviously, everything depends on the pace of consumption, and someone has to be in charge of extracting the lithium and preparing it for later transport and use.
Most of that lithium is found in the triangle formed by Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile, but Australia and China also have good reserves. How is the element obtained? Bloomberg journalist Ashlee Vance traveled to the Atacama Desert to find out.
How is lithium obtained?
Thanks to the video, we can see one of the operations run by SQM, Sociedad Química y Minera. In very relaxed terms, what the miners do is pump water below the surface to obtain a “brine” loaded with lithium and other minerals. The liquid is placed in large ponds, and the rest of the work is left to the Sun, evaporating the water. The process takes between 18 and 24 months (perhaps less for a place like Atacama), however, the cost is relatively low.
Now, the key for lithium producers is to stay competitive with greater integration. China began to gain an advantage due to the fact that it extracts lithium and at the same time manufactures the batteries. It is unlikely that any of the Latin American operations will make their own batteries in the short term, but you should never close the door completely...
Bloomberg
