The lithium value chain

Hard-rock ores (spodumene, lepidolite, petalite, zinnwaldite, lithium clay) and salt-lake brine are the two primary sources of lithium. Grade, impurity profile and location determine the downstream process route and the cost curve.

Hard rock is crushed and upgraded by dense-medium separation and flotation into concentrate, then calcined for phase transformation and leached with acid or alkali into a solution. Brine is evaporated and concentrated, and magnesium and boron are removed by adsorption or membrane processes to give lithium chloride solution.

Purified lithium solution is carbonated, causticised or precipitated and crystallised to give lithium carbonate, hydroxide, chloride and fluoride. Battery-grade products require further magnetic separation, moisture control and particle-size classification.

Lithium salts extend downstream into lithium metal (by molten-salt electrolysis), cathode materials (LFP, NCM, LCO, LMO) and electrolytes (LiPF₆, LiFSI). This stage sets the energy density, rate capability and safety limits of the cell.

Lithium products ultimately enter traction batteries, energy storage and consumer electronics, as well as industrial applications such as glass and ceramics, pharmaceuticals, greases, absorption cooling and metallurgy. Grade and impurity requirements differ widely between applications.

End-of-life batteries are inspected, dismantled and shredded to black mass, then returned to battery-grade lithium carbonate through hydrometallurgical leaching and purification. This closes the loop from resource to material to cell to recycling and lowers the life-cycle carbon footprint.