It's always good to keep an eye on future developments. The...

It's always good to keep an eye on future developments. The current glut of lithium is partly due to the increase in Chinese lepidolite which we know is bathed in sulphuric acid and for every ton of lithium 30 tons of waste is produced. Spodumene is better in that after the high temp roasting and the acid bathing it only produces 8 to 10 tons of solid waste https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0892687521002156. If over the next decade if lithium production does increase by 5X that's a lot of toxic waste to dispose of. I guess the disposal of waste will add to the cost of lithium production. If only there was a method where lithium could be extracted with minimal environmental impact.