Use of innovative techniques to ensure Lithium brine supply for the low-cost battery market

“这项可行性研究的目的是开发一系列工具，这些工具包含在工作流程中，可以确定如何将锂盐适当地用于低成本电池市场。利用遥感数据来支持流域尺度的地质认识、水文和盐沼特征，这将使水文地质概念模型得以创建，然后发展成数值模型。因此，可以优化井田开发，提取富锂盐水。这种工作流程适用于任何盐湖，但将在玻利维亚的乌尤尼（世界上最大的锂盐矿床）进行开发。其中的工作流程和工具将为世界上任何存在液态盐水的地方提供重复的基础，并包括低成本电池制造所需的那些元素。地壳中锂的含量相对较高，是地球上含量第27高的元素。锂在自然界中以多种矿物形式和不同锂金属含量的化合物存在。虽然南美拥有世界上最大的锂资源，主要在锂三角（玻利维亚、阿根廷、智利和最近合并的秘鲁），但澳大利亚、美国和中国也是主要生产国。拉丁美洲锂三角的最后一个大玩家是玻利维亚。据估计，它拥有世界上约50-70%的锂资源（大部分未开发，因此这个数字是推测性的），但尚未生产任何大量的锂。该项目的成果将有助于玻利维亚加快这一进程，支持该国的经济发展，同时保持锂开采的负责任和可持续增长。”

"The aim of this feasibility study is to develop a series of tools enshrined in a workflow that enables the identification of how Lithium (Li) brines can be properly exploited for the low-cost battery market. Using remotely sensed data to support basin-scale geological understanding, hydrology and salar characterisation this will enable hydrogeological conceptual models to be created and then developed into numerical models. Thus, enabling an optimised wellfield development to abstract Li-rich brines. This workflow will be general for any salar, but will be developed in Uyuni, Bolivia (largest deposit of Li brines in the world). The workflow and tools within it will provide the basis for repeating this anywhere in the world where liquid brines exist and include those elements required for low-cost battery manufacture.The Earth's crust has a relatively high quantity of Lithium, being the 27th most abundant element on earth. Lithium is found in nature in a number of mineral forms and compounds with different lithium metal content. Although South America has the world's largest lithium sources mainly in the Lithium Triangle (Bolivia, Argentina, Chile and the recent incorporation of Peru), Australia, US, and China are also major producers. The last big player of the Latin American Lithium Triangle is Bolivia. It is estimated to possess around 50-70% of the world's Lithium resources (largely unexplored, so this figure is speculative) but does not yet produce any significant volumes of Lithium. The outcomes of this project will help Bolivia to speed up this process supporting the economic development of the country but maintaining a responsible and sustainable growth of lithium extraction."