British Lithium says its Cornish operations could eventually meet one-third of the UK’s lithium demand (Photo: Martin Meissner/AP)
A mining company based in Cornwall claims to be the first in the world to have extracted battery-grade lithium carbonate from shards of mica crystals.
British Lithium said on Tuesday its pilot plant in Roche, North Cornwall, has successfully extracted lithium carbonate from the mica in the county’s granite bedrock.It paves the way for Cornwall to become a hub for mining and refining lithium, the main ingredient for electric car batteries.
The Government plans to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars in the UK by 2030, with electric vehicles widely expected to make up the vast majority of new car sales from then.
Producing lithium in the UK would help to build a domestic supply chain for electric vehicle batteries, supporters argue.
British Lithium chief executive Andrew Smith said he was “delighted” by the results from the pilot plant, particularly as it operates under “real world” conditions, using local water supplies and materials.
The plant, which was funded by the UK Government, will shortly start producing 5kgs of lithium carbonate each day for customers to trial.
“We’re delighted with the rapid progress we’ve made, but there’s still a long road ahead in terms of refining and optimising the process,” Mr Smith said.
Plans are underway at British Lithium to build a full-scale plant, with the aim of producing 21,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate each year. That represents around one-third of the total lithium supply the UK is expected to need to meet future electric vehicle demand. The I Paper - link - Madeleine Cuff - link - more like this - link
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