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Lithium-Based Battery Systems
Published in Muhammad Asif, Handbook of Energy Transitions, 2023
C. M. Costa, J. C. Barbosa, R. Gonçalves, S. Ferdov, S. Lanceros-Mendez
Pegmatite (hard rock) deposits are intrusive igneous rocks formed in the last stage of the crystallization of magma. They consist of minerals rarely found in other types of rocks rich in lithium and other valuable elements such as tin, tantalum, niobium, beryllium, cesium, rare earth, and others (London 2018). Lithium in pegmatites accounts for up to 26% of the world’s resources (Gruber et al. 2011). It concentrates in spodumene (LiAlSi2O6) among other silicate minerals such as petalite (LiAlSi4O10), lepidolite [(KLi2Al(Al,Si)3O10(F,OH)2], and eucryptite (LiAlSiO4) (Gruber et al. 2011). Pegmatite ores contain on an average 0.58%–1.59% of lithium, which is much higher than the richest salar (0.14%, Salar de Atacama, Chile) (Gruber et al. 2011). These deposits are usually smaller and have a shorter lifetime than the brines, but their more regular distribution in the earth’s crust and independence on weather conditions ensures more secure supply lines to lithium end users (Figure 11.3b).
Plutonic Rocks
Published in Dexter Perkins, Kevin R. Henke, Adam C. Simon, Lance D. Yarbrough, Earth Materials, 2019
Dexter Perkins, Kevin R. Henke, Adam C. Simon, Lance D. Yarbrough
Pegmatites contain most of the largest crystals in the world, with sizes comparable to the gypsum crystals from the Cueva de los Cristales in Mexico, described in Chapter 4. Generally, large crystals are the result of very slow crystal growth, but the large crystals in pegmatites owe their size more to the presence of water and other volatiles in the magmas. These volatiles keep the magmas fluid, allowing ions to migrate easily. The result is easily growing fewer, but larger, crystals. Although most pegmatites form from unique magmas, some similarly textured coarse rocks may also form by metamorphic or metasomatic (alteration) processes.
Phosphate mineral associations of the Aldehuela de la Bóveda Li-Sn-Nb±Ta-bearing pegmatite (Salamanca, Spain)
Published in Adam Piestrzyński, Mineral Deposits at the Beginning of the 21st Century, 2001
E. Roda, A. Pesquera, F. Fontan, P. Keller
The pegmatite consists of quartz, feldspar, muscovite and minor Fe-Mn-(Mg) phosphates, tourmaline, garnet, columbite, cassiterite and pyrite. As accessory minerals uraninite, Fe-Mn carbonates, corundum, and zircon are founded.
Assessment of Amagunze microcline for alumina recovery in nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide solutions and kinetic study
Published in Canadian Metallurgical Quarterly, 2023
Ikechukwu A. Nnanwube, Okechukwu D. Onukwuli, Ekuma O. Ekumankama
In the near future, a commercial process which utilises a low-grade aluminium ore will be needed for aluminium production [9]. Comprehensive utilisation of the secondary resources helps assuage the shortage of primary resource and improve the environmental condition [10]. Clay minerals with high alumina content have been widely adopted as a readily available alternative in most countries for the production of alumina. Chemically, clays are hydrous aluminium silicates, typically containing slight amounts of impurities such as potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, or iron. Microcline (KAlSi3O8), with the chemical compound name, potassium aluminium silicate, is an important igneous rock-forming tectosilicate mineral. It is commonly found in granite and pegmatite. It forms during slow cooling of orthoclase; however, it exhibits more stability than orthoclase at a lower temperature. With over 25% alumina content, microcline proves to be a viable option for the production of alumina [11].
Beneficiation of lithium bearing pegmatite rock: a review
Published in Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review, 2022
Saroj Kumar Sahoo, Sunil Kumar Tripathy, A. Nayak, K. C. Hembrom, S. Dey, R. K. Rath, M. K. Mohanta
LCT pegmatites are intrusive igneous rocks with a peculiar texture known as graphic intergrowth with coarse and variable grain sizes (Bradley et al. 2017; London 2008). Lenses, dykes, and veins formed by LCT pegmatites are generally found near or in connection with major plutonic intrusions. The presence of fluxes and volatiles (e.g. boron, fluorine, chlorine, or water) in a pegmatite is primarily responsible for the coarse grain size crystals observed there, which reduce nucleation rates (i.e. the number of nuclei accessible to form crystals). This results in the formation of larger crystals. Many pegmatites are created by the prolonged fractional crystallization of a parent magma that is fertile, fluid-rich, and abundant in metals. LCT pegmatites contain lithium minerals such as spodumene, lepidolite, and petalite. It may also contain cesium, tantalum, beryllium, and tin ore minerals. It also contains quartz, albite, sodium feldspar, potassium feldspar, white mica muscovite, garnet, tourmaline, biotite, and aplite. LCT pegmatites are also mined for feldspar, muscovite, and ultrapure quartz (Bradley et al. 2017; Brown et al. 2016; Evans 2012). The global pegmatite-hosted lithium resources, along with the status of production, are presented in Table 3.
Lithium Extraction from Spodumene by the Traditional Sulfuric Acid Process: A Review
Published in Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review, 2022
Javier Rioyo, Sergio Tuset, Ramón Grau
Lithium can be found in more than 145 different minerals (Talens Peiró, Villalba and Ayres 2013). Important resources of lithium minerals are available in Australia, Canada, and China (Champion 2019). It is found in pegmatites which are considered texturally complex igneous rocks (London 2018). Pegmatites are formed by the crystallization of magma at depth in the Earth’s crust (Talens Peiró, Villalba and Ayres 2013). There are two types of pegmatite: (a) granitic and (b) non-granitic, with spodumene a granitic pegmatite (Dessemond et al. 2019). Spodumene mineral is mostly mined for lithium production although other minerals such as lepidolite, petalite, amblygonite, and eucryptite can be used (Talens Peiró, Villalba and Ayres 2013). Australia chiefly produces lithium from spodumene mineral. Average grades from 1% to 3% LiO2 are common in mineral deposits and nearly all economically viable Australian sources of lithium can be found in Western Australia (Champion 2019).