General Discussion AGY, page-8528

Not exactly..... IIRC it takes about 8 tonnes of SC6 (spod 6%) to make 1 tonne of BG carbonate.

The 6% spod is 6% Li2O
99.5% (say) BG carb is 99.5% Li2CO3


AFAIK:
1t Li2O = 0.464t Li (Li metal)
1t Li2CO3 = 0.188t Li

therefore
1 tonne of 6% Li2O (SC6) = 0.028t Li
Li2CO3 / SC6 = 0.188 / 0.028
= 6.71

So, 1 tonne of pure (or 99.XX% close enough!) Li2CO3 has almost 7 times the Li metal content as SC6.
Therefore, the 8t SC6 to make 1 tonne carb sounds about right, incorporating losses in the conversion process.


Yes, it's apples and oranges, but I suppose comparing the business opportunity for SC6 vs. Chem production is really about costs vs. margins vs. risk !
Capex is important also; at the end of the day, each op can make lotsa $$$.... although imo it is easier for new SC6 supply to come online due to the relative simplicity of the mining/processing ops... therefore imo more chance of additional competition in the spod sector vs Li brine in the next handful of years.


DYOR!