Understanding lithium demand, page-79

I think what you two have provided in this graph is very important and I don't think it has dawned on many the significance of the graph below.



The cost of producing lithium hydroxide monohydrate is less for hardrock than for brine, simply because for hard rock the process is 'one stop' shop process whereas for brine you need two separate processes, hence the higher costs (the first process for brine is producing lithium carbonate and then inputting lithium carbonate into your hydroxide process to produce your lithium hydroxide monohydrate). In terms of the chart above, be mindful the costs are the processing costs and to get to total costs you need the actual costs of the feedstock (for hard rock in producing lithium hydroxide monohydrate process, been the price of spodumene needs to be added to the numbers to get to total costs).

Now the growing market for lithium batteries is those coming from hydroxide as the chart below demonstrates, which I posted earlier, and that plays in the favour of hard rock (i.. we can debate whether hydroxide's share will be higher but the graph gives the guide).



Now going back to an earlier post on this thread of mine. Lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) has a Li content of 18.8, so need about 7.5 tonnes of 6% grade spodumene at a 90% recovery rate in the roasting process.
Lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LioH.H20) has a Li content of 16.5%, so need about 6.5 tonnes of 6% grade spodumene at a 90% recovery rate. Both are battery grade, but hydroxide has lower impurities than carbonate therefore makes better batteries than lithium carbonate. (Lithium hydroxide (LioH) has a Li content of 29%, so need about 11.5 tonnes of 6% grade spodumene at a 90% recovery rate.)

What 56.5% lithium hydroxide monohydrate actually means IMO is essentially that it is of 99% battery grade purity. Or another way to put it, 56.5% is your LIOH content which converts to 99% lithium hydroxide monohydrate for battery purity. Or another way to put that is 6.5 tonnes in your LIOH process divided by 11.5 tonnes at your 29 Li purity LIOH = 56.5% LIOH that becomes 99% purity for battery grade (or essentially your LIOH process been circumvented so that it is used for producing your battery grade needs). Hopefully clear as mud, but the links below illustrate I think what is meant by 56.5% lithium hydroxide monohydrate, which starts of with 56.5% constituting LIOH.

Lithium hydroxide is uded in greases, ceramics and a few other things. In terms of batteries, it is actually used as a 'electrolyte' using water(or some form ofliquid) as your polar solvent (hence 56.5% grade which transforms to 99% purity is your battery grade purity requirement). Hopefully again clear as mud.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrolyte

Best way to understand what 56.5% monohydrate means is understanding how the price is derived and what is meant by it.
https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/price-for-battery-56-5-min_62047910731.html?spm=a2700.7724857.normalList.57.1bcd3e4eTcjyI3
and
http://www.ichemical.com/products/1310-66-3.html

Essentially 100% purity for lithium hydroxide monohydrate requires 57.3% LIOH which then gives lithium hydroxide monohydrate purity at 99.995% purity I guess.

Refer what constitute monohydrate here:
https://wholesaler.alibaba.com/product-detail/Lithium-Hydroxide-96-99-99-9_60452895831.html
and
https://exportchem.en.made-in-china.com/product/WByEkNwCQUhV/China-Battery-Grade-Lithium-Hydroxide-Monohydrate.html

And finally, not all hard rock deposits have the capacity to produce lithium hydroxide. Deposits generally have to be high grade with low impurities (especially having low grade iron). I alluded to that in this post on this thread - Post #: 37867119

All IMO and really provided to give a view on what we are looking at when we yabber monohydrate.