..our Aussie lithium mines are hard rock, and you'd commonly...

..our Aussie lithium mines are hard rock, and you'd commonly find lithium hodlers in HC forum writing off the DLE threat stemming from the Americas.

..here is everything you need to know about DLE, lots of lithium supply coming from DLE in the years ahead.

Direct-Lithium-Extraction-DLE-An-introduction-ILiA-June-2024-v.1-English-web.pdf

In the last decade the demand for lithium has increased rapidly and there has been considerable interest in potential new technologies that are capable of lithium production. DLE could potentially have a transformative impact on lithium production and several countries’ national lithium strategies/Acts promote it, including in Bolivia, in Chile (National Lithium Policy, NLP), and in the USA (the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)), as well as in the European Union (Critical Raw Materials Act).

Since 2020, there has been significant investment in DLE innovation, with both government and private entities showing keen interest. Notably, the US Department of Energy (DOE) granted USD50 million to support Lilac Solutions, a DLE startup, in 2022 [6]. Additionally, in Bolivia consortia from Russia and China committed to investing USD1.5 billion in two DLE processing plants located in the towns of Pasto Grande and Uyuni Norte. These plants were expected to produce a minimum of 45,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate annually [7]. In 2021, Vulcan Energy Resources has raised USD320 million for its Zero Carbon Lithium™ Project in the Upper Rhine Valley in Germany, followed by receiving USD76 million from Stellantis investment in 2022 [8]. Some of the other investments include Rio Tinto acquiring the Argentinian Rincon DLE project for USD825 million and Koch Minerals and Trading investing USD252 million in Compass Minerals in 2022 [6, 9, 10].

The next wave of investments appears to be coming primarily from the oil and gas industry, including companies such as Exxon Mobil, Koch Industries, Occidental Petroleum, SLB (formerly Schlumberger), and Chevron Corp. [8].

Traditionally, there were two ways to produce lithium; from hard rock minerals or from ultrasalty brines. In 2022 approximately 60% of global lithium production came from hard rock deposits, primarily located in Australia, with the remainder (30% evaporation pond and 10% DLE) coming from brine resources mainly from Chile and Argentina [15].

From a technological perspective, brine is more attractive as lithium is already in an aqueous or water-based solution, whereas extracting lithium from hard rock requires leaching it into water. Lithium production from brine is currently dominated by traditional solar/evaporation pond-based lithium extraction. During this process, brine is pumped into vast ponds and allowed to evaporate until the lithium chloride (LiCl) concentration reaches approximately 6%. The solution is then treated to remove any remaining magnesium, calcium, and boron before being refined into lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) or lithium hydroxide (LiOH) [16]. In contrast, in a typical DLE process, lithium ions are selectively extracted from a brine while leaving most other salts in the brine solution [17].



DLE outlook

From a technical perspective, the outlook for DLE appears promising, with advancements in technology leading to improved efficiency and effectiveness in lithium recovery. Innovations in DLE processes can enable more selective extraction of lithium from brine sources, addressing challenges associated with co-extraction of other ions such as sodium and potassium with the bonus of ability to producing byproducts from DLE wastes.

From a sustainability standpoint, DLE offers several advantages. DLE processes typically have a smaller environmental footprint. They require less land area, have relatively low water usage (recycling and reinjection), and the potential to mitigate the risk of groundwater contamination.

Furthermore, advancements in DLE technology have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with lithium production, particularly when renewable energy sources are utilized to power extraction processes.

The main challenge of DLE is the unique composition of each brine found across the world. Each new DLE method necessitates unique design and considerations. Furthermore, the complexity is compounded by differences in regulations and local environments, emphasizing the crucial role of conducting comprehensive pre-feasibility studies and thorough technoeconomic evaluations for any new project.

Additionally, ongoing research and development efforts should be focused on optimizing operating conditions, enhancing selectivity, and reducing energy and water consumptions in DLE processes.

Further studies need to be carried out to understand and assess the risks and benefits of reinjection of spent brine from DLE processing in salar basins. Currently, there is limited practical information regarding the potential implications of reinjection on the layered stratigraphic structure of these basins.

Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia is the largest salar and largest known lithium deposit in the world. The Bolivian government intends to extract lithium here using DLE.