Title: LITHIUM: SCARCITY OR NOT SCARCITY

HOW CAN THIS SMALL ELEMENT BE SO IMPORTANT?

2011: THE FUTURE OF LITHIUM

The Lithium future—resources, recycling, and the environment  by Thomas Cherico Wanger

The demand for Lithium-ion batteries as a major power source in portable electronic devices and vehicles is rapidly increasing. I use cumulative data of vehicle, mobile phone, laptop, and digital camera production to show that demand will overshoot the available global Lithium resources before 2025. Even if 100% of all Lithium-ion batteries were recycled today, recycling could not prevent this resource depletion in time. As the increasing Lithium scarcity will increase the price, it will be feasible to mine diluted resources with a strong environmental impact. I highlight these impacts in Lithium-rich Bolivia, the potential new “Saudi Arabia of Lithium.” Lithium extraction is likely to cause substantial water pollution, and—through impacts on native diversity—facilitate human health impacts from cyanobacteria that are normally kept at bay by native flamingos.

Conservation Letters 4(2011) 202–206

Search and note a few of the environmental impacts due to lithium extraction?

2021: LITHIUM OUTLOOK

At this document from Government of Western Australia Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (2021), take a look at Table 15.1,  in which you can see the forecast for lithium production and stocks up to 2023.

What does “stockpiles run down” mean?

What happens with lithium stocks from 2020 up to 2023?

https://publications.industry.gov.au/publications/resourcesandenergyquarterlyjune2021/documents/Resources-and-Energy-Quarterly-June-2021-Lithium.pdf

2021: The Environmental Impact of Lithium-Ion Batteries

In 2016, protestors drew attention to a toxic chemical leak at the Ganzizhou Rongda Lithium mine that had destroyed the local ecosystem, resulting in dead fish floating in the Liqi river. Eyewitnesses reported dead cows and yak also flowing downstream from the mine following the third incident in seven years. After the second incident in 2013, the mine had been closed, only to be reopened in 2016 due to increased demand for batteries for smartphones and electric cars. Shortly after reopening, locals noticed the fish had begun dying again.

By Sarah Moore; https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=20551

Where is placed Ganzizhou Rongda?

Is there any conflict in this area?

2022: TRADING AND PRICING

Trading Economics provides Lithium pricing based on spot prices for Lithium Carbonate, 99.5% Li2CO3 min, battery grade, traded in China. Lithium is a silver-white light metal. Lithium hydroxide is used in batteries for electrical vehicles and mobile phones. Lithium hydroxide is produced from a chemical reaction between lithium carbonate and calcium hydroxide. The biggest lithium producers are Chile, China, Australia and Argentina. The largest lithium importers are China, Japan, South Korea and the United States.

Lithium carbonate prices in China were at 377,500 yuan/tonne in beginning of February, amid high global demand and difficulty of securing supplies. Prices have surged over 25% this year from continuously increasing demand from lithium battery manufacturers, especially for electric vehicles. Global electric vehicle sales are estimated to have increased by 160% during 2021, while deliveries in China are expected to double in 2022 to over 5 million sales. Meanwhile, battery manufacturers race to secure long-term supply contracts due to mineral scarcity and environmental concerns with mining. On January 20th, the Serbian government revoked mining giant Rio Tinto’s exploration licenses following extensive protests of environmental concerns. The now-defunct project would have been worth USD 2.4 billion and was estimated to produce enough lithium for 1 million electric vehicle batteries.

  Price     Day Month Year Date

Gold 1805.3      -0.06%        -0.56%       0.68%     21:40

Copper 44.660   -0.67%        -0.03%       25.91%    21:40

Steel 4,778.00    0.89%          4.90%      14.01%     Jan/28

Iron Ore 143.50     0%           23.71%      -3.37%     feb-02

Lithium 377,500.00  2.72%     36.04%     476.34%    feb-03

https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/lithium (03/02/2022)

Which chemical element has largely increased its demand?

Why do you think?

Credits: Lithium outlook; by Company reports; Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (2021); Roskill (2021); Government of Western Australia Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety; 2021; source https://publications.industry.gov.au/publications/resourcesandenergyquarterlyjune2021/documents/Resources-and-Energy-Quarterly-June-2021-Lithium.pdf; licence C