{"id":81772,"date":"2024-02-07T00:55:42","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T00:55:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/\/?p=81772"},"modified":"2024-02-07T00:55:42","modified_gmt":"2024-02-07T00:55:42","slug":"lithium-mining-in-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/lithium-mining-in-australia\/","title":{"rendered":"Lithium Mining in Australia: What Does the Future Hold?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The future of lithium mining in Australia is bright, but miners must overcome critical challenges to reach the industry\u2019s potential. One of the core minerals at the heart of the energy transition, Li is the crucial component in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, allowing them to react.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lithium-ion batteries are in\u00a0<\/span>hot demand<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0in multiple sectors, from industry to automotive, cell phones to solar storage, and that\u2019s expected to continue in the coming years. Specifically, the world will need vast quantities of lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate, downstream products produced from the raw lithium found in either hard rock deposits or brines.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lithium translates from the Ancient Greek l\u00edthos for ‘stone’.<\/span><\/h2>\n

The Li market and supply chain is projected to reach $90 billion in value by 2030, growing at over 20% per year from today\u2019s aggregate of $22B. And while prices are in decline as supply catches up with demand, at the current clip, there will be a supply gap of\u00a0<\/span>1,640,000 tonnes<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0of refined lithium product per year by 2030.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the contributing factors to this shortfall is the outdated, inefficient, and often harmful methods used to process lithium into its value-added forms. Exploring this value chain will be a significant focus for Australian lithium miners as they attempt to capture maximum profitability and offset the reduced margin of hard rock mining.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, with new processes like Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) coming online, there may be ways to squeeze more minerals from our current mined resources realistically, even catching up to future shortfalls by improving process efficiency.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Is Direct Lithium Extraction the Answer?<\/span><\/h2>\n

DLE, or Direct Lithium Extraction, is a process that involves using solvent extraction, membranes, or adsorbents to extract and refine lithium directly from its source. According to its early proponents, DLE technology has the potential to recover\u00a0<\/span>300% more lithium<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0per ton as compared to existing processes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thanks to its increased efficiency, DLE may provide a bridge to avoid the supply shortfall and become an essential step to meet the growing demand for lithium. Targeted at refining lithium directly from brines at the lowest cost per unit volume, DLE is also touted as being able to reduce the impact of lithium mining on the environment significantly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lithium was involved in the first human-made nuclear reaction and served as a fusion fuel in staged thermonuclear weapons.<\/span><\/h2>\n

While DLE does have its challenges, it may be the lithium industry disruptor that helps meet the needs of a clean energy world, bringing with it notable environmental and production upsides, including:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Enabling a more rapid production time frame and opening up the possibility of brine reinjection into the aquifer, a crucial environmental differentiator between DLE and the traditional lithium process, relying on evaporation ponds.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Elements of the emerging DLE processes are already known throughout the lithium industry, including adsorption (AD), ion exchange (IX), and solvent extraction (SX), which are already used across other commodities at a commercial scale.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    According to industry insiders, DLE technology could become a reality between 2025 and 2030 across various greenfield projects and brownfield expansions in Chile and Argentina.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Australian Lithium Miners Hunt for Added Value<\/span><\/h2>\n

    Lithium miners in Australia are facing a steep hill to climb. Despite the lower cost associated with hard-rock lithium mining in Australia, the spodumene concentrate produced trades at a significant discount compared to its brine-pumping peers in South America.<\/span><\/p>\n

    A case study:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    There is one Australian project, however, that hopes to buck the trend and convert its spodumene into lithium hydroxide, a\u00a0<\/span>far more lucrative<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0downstream product. The Greenbushes Lithium Mine in Western Australia is progressing in its plan to enter further down the value chain by producing lithium hydroxide from its hard rock mine that solely produces spodumene concentrate.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Two lithium hydroxide conversion facilities are being constructed in Western Australia to convert a portion of this spodumene concentrate. The first of these facilities is located 250 kilometers north of Greenbushes at Kwinana, a southern Perth suburb, producing spodumene concentrate and lithium hydroxide.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The additional cost of converting the spodumene concentrate to lithium hydroxide is expected to be US$2,456\/t LCE; however, this is outweighed by the value addition that can be achieved. The success of the conversion facility is driving other Australian lithium producers, including large-cap companies like Mineral Resources Ltd., to consider constructing such facilities near their existing operations, including Wodgina.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Each of these decisions, however, must also consider the significant capital expenditure (CapEx) involved in constructing a conversion plant. This sort of value-added processing may become the norm for Australian miners and producers as more and more lithium supply comes on board while brine producers are capturing more profit through a premium product.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Lithium\u2019s Aussie Horizon and Summary<\/span><\/h2>\n

    Despite the challenges posed by geography and competition from overseas producers, Australia remains in the box seat to benefit from the rise of lithium and its derivatives. The best estimates still put Australia’s lithium ore reserves at an adequate level for at least 79 years, at a production rate of 21.3 kt per annum.<\/span><\/p>\n

    This figure increases to 133 years when all available Economically Demonstrated Reserves of lithium are accounted for. While Australia only has 18% of the world’s reserves, its miners produce the lion\u2019s share of the world\u2019s lithium, with<\/span>\u00a061,000 tonnes<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0pulled from the ground in 2022.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    With a mature mining industry and associated infrastructure, alongside an enviable investment bubble, the lithium architecture is already primarily in place. As we\u2019ve seen, the question from here revolves around value-adding and ensuring that Australia is not simply the world\u2019s quarry for raw resources but a downstream producer of vital products.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Demand for lithium is expected to increase rapidly in the electric vehicles segment worldwide, as major car manufacturers are introducing new models to capture market share. The uptake in EVs is being driven by an array of government subsidies and fuel emission regulations designed to promote a cleaner environment by reducing reliance on fossil fuels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    These initiatives are expected to combine and encourage consumers to shift towards hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or fully electric vehicles over time. All this bodes well for Australian lithium miners.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Dust suppression is a critical issue in the world of mining and resources.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Learn more about GRT\u2019s industry-leading and IoT-connected\u00a0SMART Dosing Units<\/a>, and discover how we\u2019re driving better dust suppression solutions for all!<\/strong><\/p>\n

    If you\u2019d like to talk with an expert, simply\u00a0contact us<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Your feedback is important to us.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    If you enjoyed reading this Global Road Technology industry update and found it informative, please let us know by leaving a\u00a0REVIEW<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    References:<\/h2>\n

    https:\/\/elements.visualcapitalist.com\/direct-lithium-extraction\/<\/a><\/p>\n

    https:\/\/www.goldmansachs.com\/intelligence\/pages\/gs-research\/direct-lithium-extraction\/report.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

    https:\/\/pages.marketintelligence.spglobal.com\/lithium-sector-outlook-costs-and-margins-confirmation-CD.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The future of lithium mining in Australia is bright, but miners must overcome critical challenges to reach the industry\u2019s potential. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":78872,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-articles"],"yoast_head":"\nLithium Mining in Australia: Navigating Challenges<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover how lithium mining in Australia navigates challenges, including DLE tech and value-added processing, amid rising demand.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/lithium-mining-in-australia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lithium Mining in Australia: Navigating Challenges\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discover how lithium mining in Australia navigates challenges, including DLE tech and value-added processing, amid rising demand.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/lithium-mining-in-australia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"GRT\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-07T00:55:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/global-road-technology-Lithium-mining-in-Australia.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1254\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"534\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Troy Adams\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Troy Adams\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/lithium-mining-in-australia\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/lithium-mining-in-australia\/\",\"name\":\"Lithium Mining in Australia: Navigating Challenges\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/lithium-mining-in-australia\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/lithium-mining-in-australia\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/global-road-technology-Lithium-mining-in-Australia.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-07T00:55:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/#\/schema\/person\/634efc2026d5462934990ffbab7984a1\"},\"description\":\"Discover how lithium mining in Australia navigates challenges, including DLE tech and value-added processing, amid rising demand.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/lithium-mining-in-australia\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/lithium-mining-in-australia\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/lithium-mining-in-australia\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/global-road-technology-Lithium-mining-in-Australia.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/global-road-technology-Lithium-mining-in-Australia.jpg\",\"width\":1254,\"height\":534,\"caption\":\"Lithium mining in Australia\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/lithium-mining-in-australia\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Lithium Mining in Australia: What Does the Future Hold?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/\",\"name\":\"GRT\",\"description\":\"Dust Control and Soil Stabilization\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/#\/schema\/person\/634efc2026d5462934990ffbab7984a1\",\"name\":\"Troy Adams\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/troy-150x150.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/troy-150x150.jpeg\",\"caption\":\"Troy Adams\"},\"description\":\"Troy Adams is the Managing Director of Global Road Technology (GRT) Specialising in Engineered Solutions for Dust Suppression, Erosion Control, Soil Stabilisation and Water Management. A pioneering, socially conscious Australian entrepreneur, Troy Adams is passionate about health and safety and providing innovative solutions that are cost-effective to the mining industry, governments and infrastructure sectors. Troy is also a tech investor, director of companies like Crossware, Boost, Hakkasan, Novikov and more.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/troyadamsglobalroadtechnology\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/author\/troy-adams-grt\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Lithium Mining in Australia: Navigating Challenges","description":"Discover how lithium mining in Australia navigates challenges, including DLE tech and value-added processing, amid rising demand.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/lithium-mining-in-australia\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Lithium Mining in Australia: Navigating Challenges","og_description":"Discover how lithium mining in Australia navigates challenges, including DLE tech and value-added processing, amid rising demand.","og_url":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/lithium-mining-in-australia\/","og_site_name":"GRT","article_published_time":"2024-02-07T00:55:42+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1254,"height":534,"url":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/global-road-technology-Lithium-mining-in-Australia.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Troy Adams","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Troy Adams","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/lithium-mining-in-australia\/","url":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/lithium-mining-in-australia\/","name":"Lithium Mining in Australia: Navigating Challenges","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/lithium-mining-in-australia\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/lithium-mining-in-australia\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/global-road-technology-Lithium-mining-in-Australia.jpg","datePublished":"2024-02-07T00:55:42+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/#\/schema\/person\/634efc2026d5462934990ffbab7984a1"},"description":"Discover how lithium mining in Australia navigates challenges, including DLE tech and value-added processing, amid rising demand.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/lithium-mining-in-australia\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/lithium-mining-in-australia\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/lithium-mining-in-australia\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/global-road-technology-Lithium-mining-in-Australia.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/global-road-technology-Lithium-mining-in-Australia.jpg","width":1254,"height":534,"caption":"Lithium mining in Australia"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/lithium-mining-in-australia\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Lithium Mining in Australia: What Does the Future Hold?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/","name":"GRT","description":"Dust Control and Soil Stabilization","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/#\/schema\/person\/634efc2026d5462934990ffbab7984a1","name":"Troy Adams","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/troy-150x150.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/troy-150x150.jpeg","caption":"Troy Adams"},"description":"Troy Adams is the Managing Director of Global Road Technology (GRT) Specialising in Engineered Solutions for Dust Suppression, Erosion Control, Soil Stabilisation and Water Management. A pioneering, socially conscious Australian entrepreneur, Troy Adams is passionate about health and safety and providing innovative solutions that are cost-effective to the mining industry, governments and infrastructure sectors. Troy is also a tech investor, director of companies like Crossware, Boost, Hakkasan, Novikov and more.","sameAs":["https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/troyadamsglobalroadtechnology\/"],"url":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/author\/troy-adams-grt\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81772\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalroadtechnology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}