What is Lithium?
Lithium (chemical symbol: Li) is the lightest of all metals. It does not occur as a pure element in nature but is contained within stable minerals or salts including a range of rock types, brine lakes and sea water. The contained concentration of lithium is generally low and there are only a limited number of resources where lithium can be economically extracted. These are lithium rich salar brine lakes and mineral deposits.
Lithium can be processed to form a variety of different chemicals depending on its end use.
Lithium and its chemical compounds exhibit a broad range of beneficial properties including:
- the highest electrochemical potential of all metals
- an extremely low co-efficient of thermal expansion
- fluxing and catalytic characteristics
- acting as a viscosity modifier in melts
As a result, lithium is used in numerous applications which can be divided into two broad categories: chemical applications and technical applications. Lithium from mineral deposits like Greenbushes can be used in both chemical and technical applications, servicing a wide variety of end markets as outlined in the diagram below.
