Technical Application Market
Lithium end-use can generally be divided into two broad market categories: technical application markets and chemical application markets.
Lithium minerals supplied into the technical applications markets are dominated by low iron lithium mineral concentrates. The low iron concentration is necessary to meet the highly specialised requirements of end users. The majority of mineral producers cannot produce low iron lithium concentrate.
Glass and Ceramics
There are three distinct markets for lithium in glass and ceramics:
- Glass: including container glass, flat glass, pharmaceutical glass, specialty glass and fiberglass. These glass products may be designed for durability or corrosion resistance or for use at high temperatures where thermal shock resistance is important. The addition of lithium increases the glass melt rate, lowers the viscosity and the melt temperature providing higher output, energy savings and molding benefits. Major producers of technical glass products are located in Germany, France, Japan and the United States of America.
- Ceramics: including ceramic bodies, frits, glazes and heatproof ceramic cookware. Lithium lowers firing temperatures and thermal expansion and increases the strength of ceramic bodies. The addition of lithium to glazes improves viscosity for coating, as well as improving the glaze's colour and luster. The major ceramic production centres include China, Italy, Spain and Mexico.
- Specialty Applications: including induction cook tops and cookware. Lithium's extremely low co-efficient of thermal expansion makes these products resistant to thermal shock and imparts mechanical strength.
Metallurgical
Lithium is used in mould fluxes for steel casting. The addition of lithium to continuous casting mould fluxes assists in providing thermal insulation and lubricates the surface of the steel in the continuous casting process. Lithium is also used in the production of iron castings, such as engine blocks, where it reduces the effect of veining, thereby reducing the number of defective casts. Producers of continuous casting steel are located around the world, including in the United States of America, China and Europe.
