Lithium is mined by one of two methods: hydromineral and ore. In the first the metal is obtained from brine — waters of mineral lakes that are a highly concentrated salt solution. In the second — from intrusive igneous rocks mined in quarries and mines. The largest share of world mining falls to Chile, Argentina, Australia, and China.
Lithium is widely used in industry. It plays an important role in producing glass and ceramics — it makes materials more transparent and stronger and also lowers their melting temperatures. Li is also used in pharmaceuticals to produce lithium salt — a psychotropic medicine for treating bipolar affective disorder and depression.
In nuclear energy lithium is an important element in manufacturing thermonuclear reactors and nuclear fuel. It is also used in producing alloys for aviation and space industries, in foundry production to create light, strong steels and alloys, including precision ones.
But the best-known application of lithium is producing lithium batteries found in every mobile phone, laptop, electric vehicle, and other devices powered by Li-ion batteries.
Lithium-ion batteries have been used for more than 30 years. But only in 2019 did John Goodenough, Stanley Whittingham, and Akira Yoshino — scientists who played key roles in developing Li-ion batteries — receive the Nobel Prize for their discovery.
Today lithium has strategic significance not only in civilian but also in military industry. Given the extensive list of production industries in which Li is used, it is not without reason called the “oil of the 21st century.” And demand for it continues to grow every year.
According to analytical studies by the international consulting company McKinsey, even before 2019 demand for lithium increased by about 30–40 thousand tonnes per year. Today this figure is about 200 thousand tonnes annually. Meanwhile industrial enterprises’ needs exceed current lithium mining industry capabilities by approximately 4 thousand tonnes per year.
As demand rises, metal cost also increases — compared with 2020 the price of lithium in 2023 grew by 600%. It is interesting to note that despite the rise in price of pure Li, batteries based on it are getting cheaper, but not as rapidly — since 1991 after Li-ion batteries appeared on the market their cost fell by 97%.
Although the RF ranks third in the world in lithium reserves, industrial metal mining is only beginning to recover at present. After a twenty-five-year break in this field, industrial enterprises plan to return to developing abandoned deposits. Rosatom together with Norilsk Nickel are starting work at one of the largest deposits — Kolmozerskoye in Murmansk Region. It was discovered back in the mid-20th century, and geological exploration was conducted in this area for more than 10 years. But in the 1960s work was wound down because demand for this metal was low at that time.
By the way, there is another large deposit on RF territory — the Zavitinskoye polymetallic deposit in Transbaikalia. Mining here was wound down in 1997 because buying the metal in Argentina, Bolivia, or Chile became significantly more advantageous. After these countries mastered the method of obtaining pure Li by evaporating water from salt mountain lakes, the cost of lithium raw material (lithium carbonate) fell from USD 8–9 thousand per tonne to USD 3–3.5 thousand.
It was decided to return to independent lithium mining in the country after supplies from Chile and Argentina stopped. And although China and Bolivia did not suspend raw material exports, independence in this industry became a strategic task. Today purchasing lithium carbonate for production needs costs the country about 4 billion rubles per year. According to experts, developing the Kolmozerskoye deposit will make it possible not only to fully cover domestic demand but also to move to exporting this highly sought-after metal. Preliminary annual production volume of Li hydroxide and carbonate is estimated at 45 thousand tonnes annually. The enterprise plans to reach design capacity in 2030.
