Close Menu
Examining The Dilemma Of Increasing Metal Mining To Reduce Reliance
All

Examining the Dilemma of Increasing Metal Mining to Reduce Reliance on Fossil Fuels in Power Metal

ATACAMA SALARITY, CHILE - AUGUST 24: A lithium mine supervisor inspects a lithium-rich brine evaporation pond in the Atacama Desert on August 24, 2022 in the Atacama Salar, Chile. Charlotte, North Carolina-based Albemarle Corporation is expanding mining operations at its Salar facility to meet growing global demand for lithium carbonate, a key ingredient in the production of batteries for electric vehicles. To extract the lithium, natural brine is pumped from beneath the salt flats into a series of evaporation ponds. During the 18-month process, the liquid passed through 15 ponds and eventually turned from blue to yellow and had a lithium concentration of 6%. It is then trucked to the Albemarle Chemical Plant in Antofagasta, where it is processed into battery-grade lithium carbonate powder and shipped internationally. The evaporation process produces large amounts of salt by-products, much of which is then reprocessed and sold. Chile is the world's second largest lithium producer after Australia. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Lithium for batteries is mined in Chile’s Atacama Desert

John Moore/Getty Images

power metal
vince visor (Wildfire Book (UK, November 20). riverhead books(USA, November 19))

The smartphone you’re probably reading this article on is putting a huge strain on the planet. In the case of the iPhone, more than 30 kilograms of ore had to be mined to extract the metals inside the iPhone, from the nickel and cobalt in the battery to the rare earths in the touchscreen.

Larger quantities of such “important metals”…

Source: www.newscientist.com

Share.

Related Posts

Leave a Reply