Critical Battery Minerals

In the two years from the 2022 peak, lithium prices have slumped 85%. Over the same period both nickel and cobalt prices have halved and many of the other ‘critical’ battery materials have also saw price volatility. Perceived shortages shifted to over-supply while battery chemistry evolved to become more sustainable and provide better value for consumers. Processing advances have improved the recovery of lithium and opened the floodgate for deposits once not considered to be economic. A global push for sustainability and environmental best practice is driving recycling and changing supply chain dynamics. This will improve access to material inputs, provide greater raw material availability and improve supply chain security thus reducing the criticality of battery materials.

China leads the lithium-ion supply chain by 10-15 years, the barriers to entry are high, can the West catch up and if so, how? The risks of not building an alternative supply chain are high. The electrification era is going to be global, so we need well-balanced global solutions.

Most lithium indexes and reports focus entirely on lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide production; however, to power the next generation of cells, lithium metal is required as the anode material. To optimise lithium metal for pricing and performance a different process flow is required from the mines to metal.

Meteoric Resources has developed and piloted a flowsheet for recovering rare earths from the Caldeira ionic clay-hosted deposit in Minas Gerais, Brazil. This integrated process minimises CAPEX and OPEX while prioritising the highest standards of environmental stewardship.

Cobra Resources are progressing the ISR amenability story of the Boland Rare Earth Project on the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia. Rare earth recoveries, acid consumption, and permeabilities have been assessed in bench scale tests at ANSTO, and continue to demonstrate ISR amenability in the Narlaby Paeleochannel for rare earths.

This presentation will outline process options evaluated for Mkango Resources' Songwe Hill rare earth deposit which contains the rare earth fluorocarbonate minerals, synchysite (Ca(Ce,La,Nd)(CO3)2F) and parisite (Ca(Ce,La,Nd)2(CO3)3F2), as well as fluorapatite Ca5(PO4)3F. The process development for the flotation concentrate was targeted at the particular mineralogy of the deposit and a relatively simple flowsheet was developed that elegantly addressed challenges relating to the simultaneous presence of phosphate, fluoride and calcium.

QEM Ltd is undertaking a pre-feasibility study for the development of the Julia Creek vanadium and oil shale project in Queensland. The deposit contains kerogen which can be extracted as a hydrocarbon resource, and vanadium which is hosted in the clay and oxide phases, primarily in montmorillonite. This work constitutes the mineral characterisation with a view to determining the most viable processing routes for oil and vanadium recovery.

Many of the McNulty curves presented to date have been based on traditional commodities. Industry electrification, climate change technologies, as well as the current trend to develop domestic supply chains for non-traditional or critical commodities (such as rare earths, graphite, lithium, nickel, cobalt, gallium, germanium, and antimony) have led to new critical mineral projects being developed. While traditional commodity projects can bench mark against existing projects to assist in derisking and generating capital and operating cost estimates, this is more difficult for critical mineral projects. Without bench marking, additional engineering studies supported by pilot and/or demonstration plant operations may be required.  This paper will present McNulty Ramp-up Curves of recent critical mineral projects using production data out of the public domain, and where possible provide comment on the extent of additional engineering and pilot studies carried out to derisk these projects.

Recent studies reveal the intricate mechanisms in transforming a-spodumene to ß-spodumene during calcination, a critical step for lithium extraction. The reaction involves complex reconstructive transformations with high activation energies. Existing kinetic models show significant discrepancies and limitations. This presentation reviews recent evidence to decipher these reaction kinetics and mechanisms focusing on: challenges in achieving complete a-to-ß transformation in industrial settings, optimising calcination temperature and duration for efficient lithium recovery, impact of particle size on reaction kinetics, and process efficiency, Comparative analysis of kinetic models and their industrial relevance, sustainable alternatives to traditional high-energy calcination methods.

We are seeing growing interest in the use of ore sorting to achieve early-stage waste rejection and pre-concentration of lithium ores. In this presentation we discuss the rationale and potential benefits to be derived from introducing ore-sorter upgrade to lithium ores as well as the types of ore-sorting sensors finding application in this space, and sampling and test work programs required to assess viability—and finally—the current uptake in the Australian context.

Transforming lithium recovery through advancements in Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technologies. Exploring cutting-edge methods, including membranes, adsorbents, and ion exchange systems in DLE technologies. Reducing material usage, simplifying processes, and enhancing selectivity by using DLE technologies. Supporting a low-carbon economy by minimising environmental impact with innovative DLE approaches.

This presentation will discuss the production of high-purity battery-grade lithium carbonate product from lithium brine sources.

The growing demand for battery-grade lithium requires efficient purification of lithium concentrates. Selective ion exchange resins are used to remove alkaline earth metals, boron, aluminium, and fluoride.  Remarkably, we found that Lewatit chelating resin can be used in the H form for refining of LiHCO3 concentrates, without conversion with NaOH. Interestingly, when MonoPlus (630 µm – 650 µm) type resins are replaced by MDS (390 µm - 420 µm) resins, a significant increase in operating capacity was achieved. Thus, less regeneration steps are required, which allows savings on regeneration chemicals and longer resin lifetime Additionally, ultrapure lithium concentrates achieved.

In some cases, hard rock Lithium deposits are not amenable to rock-by-rock sorting or the required throughput is too high to efficiently sort the entire production stream. This talk discusses a bulk measurement technique that could be used for sorting these streams, while discussing the potential benefits and drawbacks of bulk sorting.

Reducing environmental impact while maintaining cost competitiveness is crucial for operators in the production of battery-grade lithium, both now and in the future. While spodumene is well-known as the primary source of lithium from hard rocks, the increasing demand for lithium has highlighted the importance of other lithium-bearing minerals. This paper presents the advancements in Metso’s alkaline leaching technologies for various lithium minerals, with a particular focus on petalite processing.

This presentation will cover direct lithium extraction, lithium refinery, absorbents and ion exchange materials. In additiona equipment options and benefits of continuous counter-current approach: moving bed will be discussed along with resin-in-solution, U-shaped column and examples of direct lithium extraction from different sources, and hardness removal from the lithium-rich stream.

This presentation examines the impact of the recent extreme volatility in the price of lithium carbonate on the economics of the extraction of lithium from clay and from spodumene.  A previous study examined the chemistry of each route and calculated reagent and utility consumptions for the two.  This study uses those consumption numbers, published capital costs and historical commodity prices.  It explores the impact of actual historical reagent costs and price of lithium carbonate, for various project timelines.  It shows the impact of the substantial drop in the price of lithium carbonate between 2020 and 2021 and proposes a “stress test” of project economics to help gauge the impact of such events on the economic performance of projects.

Livium (ASX:LIT) has been actively developing novel processing technologies across the lithium-ion battery value chain, to increase yield from end-of-life, waste or low grade materials, through our lithium chemical and battery recycling divisions (LieNA and Envirostream) and then value add to LFP cathode active materials using technology developed in our battery materials division (VSPC).  This presentation will cover the opportunities to improve yield from low grade hard rock lithium sources and further value add to high quality LFP using novel technologies developed by Livium.

This presentation will document finding from new geometallurgical research being undertaken by the University of Queensland across Australia to identify new critical metal mine waste (i.e., tailings, waste rock, slag, metallurgical residues) resources. Sites in Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territories have been sampled with new deposits of Co, REE, In and Sb in particular identified.

Geopolitical tensions and growing demand from the energy transition are placing significant strain on the global supply of critical minerals. Battery recycling offers a sustainable solution to ease this pressure. However, widespread adoption is hindered by several challenges. This paper analyses the current obstacles facing the battery recycling sector and explores strategies to overcome them, unlocking its full potential for securing the mineral supply chain.

The increasing use of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, one of the fastest-growing types of lithium-ion batteries, is anticipated to significantly increase battery waste. This study investigates recycling spent LFP batteries through discharge, pre-treatment, and selective leaching. Discharged batteries underwent pyrolisis and shredding in two different schemes, followed by leaching with various leaching agent. Findings highlight the impact of pre-treatment and leaching agents on lithium recovery, contributing to an optimised recycling process.

South Korea’s battery recycling industry is rapidly advancing with a focus on efficient resource recovery, eco-friendly technology, and robust end-of-life battery management systems. Supported by government policies, the industry aims to optimise metal recovery, build a circular economy, and comply with environmental standards. As global demand rises, South Korea is positioned to lead the battery recycling market, setting a sustainable model for resource management and environmental responsibility.