Topic summary
Lithium mining
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Lithium.
Direct lithium extraction
Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technologies may become alternatives to evaporation. The DLE techniques offer high lithium recovery rates and high purity with potentially lower environmental impact especially in the use of less water. However these technologies have not been tested at industrial scale and their relative cost is unknown. The techniques may require unusual materials that may have limited availability or their own environmental impacts. Some recent US lithium mining projects are attempting to bring DLE into commercial production.