Nigeria’s latest lithium find: some key questions answered

Nigeria’s latest lithium find: some key questions answered

Subject: Geography

• The Geological Agency described the lithium as high grade because what’s been found has between 1-13 per cent oxide content. Normally exploration begins at levels as low as 0.4 percent.
• Grade (in per cent) is a measure of concentration of the lithium in the minerals and or rocks that contains it. Therefore, the higher the grade the more the economic viability.
• Higher grades are very rare for metals like lithium.Lithium is a metallic mineral in very high demand by manufacturing industries.
• Seven years ago the bulk of demand for lithium was split between ceramics and glasses (35 per cent) and greases, metallurgical powders, polymers, and other industrial uses (over 35 per cent). Less than 30 per cent was for batteries. But by 2030, batteries are expected to account for 95 per cent of demand.
• Lithium-ion batteries are generally more expensive but have better performance and are becoming the preferred technology. The different types are:
  • Lithium-cobalt oxide battery. It is used in consumer electronics and is finding application in electric vehicles. It is relatively cheap.
  • Lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt is a newer, higher performing range of battery chemistry. It is mainly developed for the electronic vehicle market but is finding a wider use because of its increasing cost effectiveness.
  • Lithium iron phosphate, the safest technology with relatively high performance but relatively expensive. It is very popular in China but is likely to become overtaken by Lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt over the longer term; and
  • Lithium-nickel-cobalt-aluminium oxide developed to reduce cobalt consumption and is known as a solid performer and of reasonable cost. It is also becoming popular outside China.
• Green bushes mine in Western Australia is the largest hard-rock lithium mine in the world.
• Lithium and most lithium minerals are mined along with other high-value metallic minerals such as tin, niobium-tantalum (columbite-tantalite) and uranium (in pyrochlore).
• In Nigeria, lithium minerals (spodumene and lepidolite) are known to be associated with cassiterite, columbite-tantalite (coltan) and others in the extensive belt of rare metal-bearing rock types called pegmatite.