Pilot Scale Production of Lithium from UK Granites; transitioning to an electric vehicle future post Covid-19

BLL在英国发现了大量的锂云母花岗岩资源，但从未从云母中商业提取锂。此前更多的学术工作曾建议使用云母锂的化学泡沫浮选和热硫酸浸出来提取锂，这将产生数百万吨受污染的残留物。BLL开发了从花岗岩中提取锂云母的新技术，并在不需要有毒化学品的低温和中性pH下提取锂，可能提供世界上最低的环境足迹。我们拥有英国唯一专门的锂实验室，拥有粉碎、选矿、火法冶金和湿法冶金的先进设备。我们的试点工厂将改进和验证我们的新技术，消除放大风险，并生产代表性产品供潜在客户测试和验证。2020年，英国柴油车和汽油车的销量分别下降了55%和39%，而电动汽车销量增长了188%，占总销量的29%。12月份销量最大的汽车是进口的特斯拉Model 3。汽车制造商与电池制造商共址。英国目前只计划建设一个千兆工厂，而欧洲已投资600亿欧元用于电动汽车制造，其中包括在建的15个千兆工厂。在英国设计的第一辆电动汽车(捷豹的i-Pace)是在奥地利制造的，使用的是波兰电池。要将整个英国汽车业从内燃机转变为电动汽车，将需要7个千兆工厂。_Benchmark_预测世界对碳酸锂电池材料的需求将从2020年的140,315吨增长到2030年的1.74吨，需要大量新的生产。英国政府的“绿色工业革命十点计划”有效地要求发展当地的锂电池供应链新措施包括：·将禁止内燃机车辆的禁令推进到2030年；·10亿GB，支持英国汽车及其供应链的电气化，包括发展“巨型工厂”，以大规模生产所需电池；·13亿GB，加快充电基础设施的铺设；和·GB 5.82亿英镑，以延长插电式许可。由于成功的试生产，我们拟建的采石场和炼油厂目前将提供欧洲唯一的国内锂供应，有可能使英国处于锂化学品、电池和零排放汽车综合制造的前沿，支持英国汽车业以绿色为主导的复苏，从新冠肺炎造成的巨大损失，以及从内燃机到电动汽车的颠覆性变化。仅我们拟建的采石场和炼油厂就可以满足英国三分之一的需求。

BLL has identified a substantial lithium-mica-granite Resource in the UK, but lithium has never been commercially extracted from mica.Mostly academic work has previously proposed chemical froth flotation of lithium mica and hot sulphuric acid leaching to extract the lithium, which would produce millions of tonnes of contaminated residues. BLL has developed novel technologies for extracting lithium-mica from granite, and for extracting the lithium at low temperatures and neutral pH that don't require toxic chemicals, potentially offering the lowest environmental footprint of any world lithium producer.We have the UK's only dedicated lithium laboratory, with advanced equipment for comminution, beneficiating, pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy. Our Pilot Plant will refine and validate our novel technology, eliminate scale-up risk, and produce representative product for testing and validation by potential customers.In 2020 UK car sales fell 55% for diesel and 39% for petrol, whereas EV sales increased 188% to 29% of total sales. December's largest selling car was the imported Tesla Model 3\.Carmakers co-locate with battery makers. Just one Gigafactory is currently proposed in UK whereas €60 billion has been invested in electric vehicle manufacture in Europe, including 15 gigafactories under construction. The first EV designed in UK (Jaguar's I-Pace) is made in Austria with Polish batteries. To transform the whole UK car industry from internal combustion to EVs would require seven Gigafactories. _Benchmark_ predict world demand for lithium carbonate for battery materials to grow from 140,315t in 2020 to 1.74Mt by 2030, requiring significant new production.The UK Government's "_Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution_" effectively mandates the development of a local lithium-battery supply chain New measures include:• Moving forward the ban on internal combustion only vehicles to 2030;• £1 billion to support the electrification of UK vehicles and their supply chains, including developing "Gigafactories" to produce the batteries needed at scale;• £1.3 billion to accelerate the roll-out of charging infrastructure; and• £582 million to extend the Plug-in grants.Subject to successful pilot production, our proposed quarry and refinery would currently offer Europe's only domestic supply of lithium, potentially placing the UK at the forefront of the integrated manufacture of lithium chemicals, batteries and zero-emission vehicles, supporting the green-led recovery of the UK's automotive sector from the dramatic losses due to Covid-19, and the disruptive change from internal combustion to electric mobility.Our proposed quarry and refinery would alone meet one-third of Britain's requirements.