Development Status and Research Progress of Unconventional Brine-type Lithium Resources

Abstract

This is an article in the field of mining engineering. As an important battery raw material in the field of new energy, the global demand for lithium is accelerating. For a long time, China has needed to import a large amount of lithium raw materials, and there is still expected to be a significant demand gap in the future. Unconventional brine sources such as geothermal brine, oil and gas field brine, and desalination wastewater in seawater containing contain considerable lithium resources and may become an effective supplement to conventional lithium resources. As a green and sustainable method for extracting lithium resources, the development of unconventional brine-type lithium resources faces significant opportunities. The discovery of abundant unconventional brine-type lithium resources in Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan and other places in China will be of great help to solve the shortage of lithium raw material supply in China. By summarizing the current status and progress of unconventional brine-type lithium resource development and its key technologies both domestically and internationally, this article provides a reference for the development of unconventional brine-type lithium resources in China.

Keywords

• mining engineering
• lithium
• geothermal brines
• oil (gas) fieldbrines
• seawater
• critical minerals
• strategic minerals