Lithium, and other rare earth elements, are now establishing themselves as the "green petrols" of the future. Indeed, batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles will strongly increase demand for them between now and 2020, taking into account that an electric car necessitates 3,000 times more lithium than a mobile telephone.
Moreover, Tom Astle, Director of Research at Dundee Securities Corp, which, in October 2009, published a study on lithium production, explains: "In the long term (2020), we estimate that production could exceed 400,000 tons, which corresponds to the estimated requirements of the automobile and other industries".
Chile is currently the number one world producer of this "grey gold", at 7,500 tonnes in 2009 according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS)), thanks to the Salar de Atacama deposit. With Argentina, Australia and the United States, these 4 countries represent 84% of world supply.
The new El Dorados of lithium
Anticipating increasingly strong demand, mining companies are embarking on the discovery of non-exploited lithium areas.
The greatest lithium deposit, the Salar de Uyuni, is in Bolivia; its salt is produced by the drying out of a 12,500km2 salt lake. Also according to the USGS, this deposit represents almost half of the world’s reserves, or at least 5.4 million tons.
Three companies are fighting over the Bolivian subsoil, as yet untapped: the French company Bolloré and the Japanese companies Mitsubishi and Sumitomo.
In addition, Canada is starting to make waves: with the Lake Mavis project, the mining company International Lithium Corp has just acquired four sites in North-West Ontario. The Forgan and Niemi Lakes, near Nipigon, contain lithium reserves estimated at 200,000 tons.
International Lithium Corp already owns sites in Nevada (USA), in South-East Ireland and in Argentina.
Finally, the Australian companies "Galaxy Resources" and "General Mining" have formed an alliance to look for lithium in Mongolia and Kazakhstan.
If demand for lithium triples by 2020, the discovery of these new deposits will redraw the energy map of the world on a permanent basis. This transformation towards a "green economy" is one to follow very closely…
The study carried out by the consultant CE Delft, commissioned by Greenpeace, Transport & Environment (T&E), Friends of the Earth Europe and WWF Germany, concludes that the electric vehicle could be an opportunity to reduce CO2 emissions in Europe if its commercial development is accompanied by real energy policy in favour of renewable energy.
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