What is lithium mining?

Lithium mining is extracting the mineral either from hard rock in a similar way to gold mining or by extracting it from brine deposits. Hard rock mining of lithium is energy, time and cost intensive and has almost been priced out of the market in favor of brine recovery.

Lithium is the 33rd most frequently occurring mineral. It is the lightest of all solid elements. Lithium is soft and silvery white. Lithium is used in heat-resistant ceramics and glass, high strength-to-weight alloys, greases, lithium ion batteries and as a neurological medication. Lithium brine processing could lower the carbon footprint of lithium mining as it is a nearly zero-waste mining method.