{"id":6859,"date":"2022-02-21T15:36:59","date_gmt":"2022-02-21T13:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intraders.org\/news\/?p=6859"},"modified":"2022-03-09T07:58:11","modified_gmt":"2022-03-09T05:58:11","slug":"lithium-some-background-and-a-reflection-regarding-tenders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intraders.org\/news\/ot\/lithium-some-background-and-a-reflection-regarding-tenders\/","title":{"rendered":"Lithium some background and a reflection regarding tenders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Andr\u00e9s\nSoto-Bubert1<\/sup>, Vlamir Mu\u00f1oz1<\/sup>, Roberto Acevedo*1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facultad\nde Ingenier\u00eda y Tecnolog\u00eda<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Universidad\nSan Sebasti\u00e1n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bellavista\n7.  Postcode 8420524<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regi\u00f3n\nMetropolitana<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Santiago-Chile<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I.-\nOverture:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          A great and rather intense debate is going on in Chile with regards to Lithium in view of the many applications in due progress all over the world. Chile is indeed a small country having a rather fragile economy.    We have managed so far by exploiting metallic and non-metallic resources; however, the overall situation due to the pandemic and social disturbances have increased our debt significantly.   There are, of course, some additional problems to overcome if the country and its citizens wish to improve the quality of their lives. We certainly need to attract new income sources and develop a comprehensive and effective strategy to create the opportunities to open our economy to new investments and simultaneously to enlarge our critical mass of professionals to produce highly competitive goods to both exports and compete with the country of the so-called first world.    Countries such as the United States of America, China, Russia, India and the European Community have developed over the decades highly creative strategies to compete in the world market successfully.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be Our InTraders\u2019 Author for Free of Registration to InTraders\u2019 Conferences & International Books<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The discussion is ongoing in Chile, and there is not a\nsensible agreement about how to deal with our resources in a sensible way to\nincrease the quality of life of the citizens.   \nWe have thought about these issues, and our conclusions are discussed in\nthe text below.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

*To whom the correspondence should be addressed<\/p>\n\n\n\n

II.- Some reflections and ideas in discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lithium generally occurs in three forms: as Pegmatites\n(Spodumene, Amblogonite, Eucryptite, Petalites, Lepidolites), as brine (salt\nflats) and finally in sedimentary rocks (clays, evaporite rocks and volcanic\ntuff). Of these possibilities in brines, its more significant presence in\nnature is observed, highlighting Chile, Argentina and Bolivia as the countries\nthat present the primary brine deposits in salt flats.   Chile is one of the world’s largest lithium\nexporters and has a high percentage of the world’s lithium reserves. Nevertheless,\nthey are the Pegmatites, which, at the world level, contribute in a more\nsignificant proportion to the production of Lithium in the world, with 55%,\nwhile brines contribute approximately 45%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The largest producer in Australia with a market share\nassociated with Pegmatites of 48% by 2020, while the Atacama salt flat\ncontributes 29% of world production through two companies (SQM, Albermarle). In\nthe region of Atacama, lithium production is by the conventional method of\nsolar pools (brines) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These solar pools are separated through the fractional\nprecipitation process, where lithium-rich brines are extracted, and potassium\nchloride and boric acid are produced as a by-product. A smaller salt flat is\nMaricunga, which in Chile also has an interesting lithium content, followed by\nPedernales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general, the Lithium generated in Chile and\nArgentina (Salar del Hombre Muerto) has low production costs when compared to\nbrines generated in other latitudes; however, the production time is much\nlonger since solar evaporation is a production process. of energy “free”\nbut slow. These evaporative processes allow the product to be obtained in one\nto two years, while a chemical-mining plant, for example, associated with\nPegmatite, does so in one to two months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The brine, after the evaporation and fractional\nprecipitation processes, manages to concentrate up to approximately 6-7% by\nweight of Lithium in solar pools, to subsequently produce lithium carbonate or\nhydroxide in chemical plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is necessary to emphasize that the Atacama brines\nwith which Lithium is produced have different compositions of Lithium and other\nspecies in solution, such as sodium ions, potassium, magnesium, chlorine and\nsulfate, among others<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The brine is provided by a large number of productive\nwells, which provide a certain brine flow and with a determined composition in\neach case. These brines must be combined in such a way that each ion satisfies\ncertain composition ranges if production by solar evaporation route is desired;\nthat is, the brines have restrictions in their composition, and therefore the\nbrine to be used is not just anyone if proper processing conducive to producing\nLithium<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the brine is used, for example, rich in sulfate,\none of the ions present in solution, the solar pools do not provide the desired\nevaporation route; that is, other salts precipitate in the pools that do not\nallow Lithium to be obtained in this way, generating challenges in the\nproduction process<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Atacama salt flat has an appreciable amount of\nbrines with wells with a high sulfate content, so when resources and reserves\nare calculated, it is not so direct to establish how much of that brine, using\nthese processes can be conducive to lithium production. It may be necessary to\nmodify processes in the future depending on the abundance of the ions that make\nup the brines in these salt flats. Similarly, the depth of the salt-flat and,\ntherefore, its resources and reserves are not well established. Its value is an\nestimate. The depth of the salt flat must be specified and transparent since\nthe way of estimating the resource (depth of the salt flat) is not rigorous<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lithium carbonate has greater industrial use than\nlithium hydroxide today. Around 71% is used as input lithium carbonate and 24%\nlithium hydroxide. The other forms in which Lithium is marketed are metallic Lithium,\nbutyl lithium, lithium bromide and brine concentrate containing lithium-ion,\nwhose market is around 5%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China is the main consumer and uses around 39% of\ntotal consumption. About 50% is used to make batteries. Japan consumes 26%, and\nSouth Korea 17%. Among these three Asian countries, consumption of\napproximately 93% worldwide is reached<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most important use of Lithium, and that is why its\ndemand and price have increased in recent years, is the manufacture of\nrechargeable electric batteries. Among the main applications in this line are\nElectromobility for the design of light and heavy vehicles, e-bikes, scooters,\namong others. Electrical devices such as laptops, tablets, phones and others\nalso require lightweight, rechargeable and portable batteries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main mining product in Chile continues to be\ncopper. Lithium, despite being called “white gold”, represents a\nsmaller mining market when compared to the red metal in Chile.   In the same way, it has other applications\nsuch as the manufacture of glass and ceramics, giving it mechanical properties\navoiding glass fracture with heat. By incorporating Lithium in the composition\nof the glasses, they present a lower thermal expansion, lower fire temperature<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also used as an additive in greases and\nlubricants, allowing applications at variable temperatures and conditions.\nOther uses are for air conditioning devices, the aluminium industry, chemical\nand metallurgy, life jackets, pharmaceuticals, and the manufacture of plastics\nand polymers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another use for which it is considered strategic is\nthe use of one of its isotopes for the production of nuclear energy. In Chile,\nthis application in nuclear reactors is not interesting from an industrial\npoint of view since the country opted for other energy sources for its energy\nsupply; however, the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission (CCHEN) is one of the\nInstitutions that has historically expressed an opinion regarding the\ncommercialization and production permits of the metal. Growing demand for Lithium\nis estimated in the next ten years, with more significant values \u200b\u200bfor lithium\nhydroxide. Some possible threats are the development of sodium batteries, a\nmetal much more abundant than Lithium, but achieving mass production of this\nclass of batteries may take some time and an estimate that projects a growing\nmarket for Lithium over the next ten years is reasonable<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding the tenders, which are in the public debate\nthese days, it should be noted that in Chile, Lithium’s know-how is generally\nfound in companies rather than in academia. Lithium mining is not trivial, and\nits processes are unrelated to conventional metal mining. Notwithstanding the previous,\nthe exploitation methods used to obtain Lithium, its sustainability, how it\naffects the communities, and the retribution to them and the environment must\nbe carefully reviewed.   Lithium\nproduction consumes water resources in desert areas, and the evaporation of\nwater and its non-recovery obviously decreases brine inventories in the\ngroundwater. At this point in the discussion, it is important to emphasize the\nexistence of taxation (Royalty) that is applied to Lithium that is paid by the\nrelevant, productive companies on this issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lithium batteries use other components, and the\nassembly of a battery is done by several companies that generate its\ncomponents. Producing batteries in Chile means competing with China and other\nmanufacturers from emerging Asia, which have a developed industry, experience\nand are already very competitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this area and sector, competitiveness is extremely\ndemanding, and everything indicates that at the country level, we are at a\nmarked disadvantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proposing to manufacture batteries in Chile requires\nan explanation of how the industry of these goods could be developed\ncompetitively. In Chile, there is no experience, nor is there an industry\nassociated with the manufacture of the components of a lithium battery or its\ncomponents. Traditionally, Chilean mining concentrates metals and acts as a\nsupplier of raw materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By virtue of the above, it is not trivial for business\ngroups to bet and invest in the development of lithium batteries, given that\ncompetition with large-volume countries and economies carries with it high\nrisks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A series of concerns arise at this point, and as a\nresult of these reflections: (a,) Is it possible for Chile, in a short time, to\nbecome a competitive country in this industry? (b) Do we have groups in\ninnovation, development and technology transfer to reduce this gap? (c) Is\nthere the will to move from speech to action in other resources, for example,\nsuch as Rhenium?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of concerns is significant, and we\nunderstand that we want to transform ourselves into a competitive economy and\nadd value. There is a consensus on this; however, everything suggests that we\nare not prepared at this point in the discussion for an incursion into this\nsizeable market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question at the end of the day is that. \u00bfCan Chile produce better technologies than developed countries? If there is no conviction in the answer, the bet is unfeasible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
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