Lithium, widely used in the manufacture of batteries for the automotive industry, has in just a few years become an essential and strategic raw material for meeting the challenge of the energy transition.
Lithium is a very light alkaline mineral, found only in nature:
- Lithium deposits are found in the form of brines at the heart of salars, which are large, partially dried salt lakes.
- It is found in clays or hard rocks such as pegmatite, or granite, as is the case on the site of the Beauvoir kaolins.
The major lithium resources identified today are in South America, Australia and China, which are also currently the major production regions.
Alkemy Capital Investments plc (LON:ALK) is focussed on developing projects in the energy transition metals sector. Tees Valley Lithium is developing a state of the art lithium hydroxide plant at Teesside, UK. Tees Valley Graphite is developing the UK’s first natural graphite active anode material processing facility at the ‘plug-and-play’ Wilton International Chemicals Park.