Lithium brine deposit

Power Materials

Lithium brine deposits are the most common, accounting for more than half of the world’s lithium resources, but may require longer processing periods. The majority of global lithium production comes from continental lithium brine deposits. The best example of a continental lithium brine deposit is the 3,000 square kilometer Salar de Atacama in Chile, home to one of the world’s richest deposits of high-grade lithium.

Lithium from brine deposits has gained more and more interest in recent years, this has mainly been driven by Tesla’s lithium-ion battery gigafactory. Lithium extraction from brine sources has proven more economical than production from hard rock ore. There are three types of lithium brine deposits: continental, geothermal and oil field. The most common are continental saline desert basins (also known as salt lakes, salt flats or salars). Lithium brine deposits represent about 66% of global lithium resources and are found mainly in the salt flats of Chile, Argentina, China and Tibet.

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