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Lithium minerals

Article in Geology Today · September 2020

DOI: 10.1111/gto.12326

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 MINERALS EXPLAINED 58

Minerals explained 58
Lithium minerals
Lithium is a critical element in modern technology, and lithium minerals will
play a key role in the fight against climate change. However, the demand
for lithium-ion batteries is dependent on an expanding supply of primary
resources. Lithium occurs in limited amounts on the Earth in a surprising
diversity of mineral species, from pyroxenes to amphiboles, phyllosilicates to
phosphates. This article examines the principal mineral groups likely to be a
target for future exploitation.

Anyone who has ever handled a standard car battery will
be aware of its major drawback: it is very heavy. Such bat-
teries are not suitable for electric cars because their weight
would severely impact on the efficiency and distances
between charging would be unacceptably short.
These batteries are so heavy because they contain
substantial amount of lead, which is one of the heavi-
est metals, located at the top end of the Periodic Table
(atomic number or AN 82, density 11.3 g/cm3). In con-
trast, the lightest metal in existence is lithium (density
0.534 g/cm3), the third element in the Periodic Table
after hydrogen and helium. This is a metal that floats
high in water. Largely for this reason, lithium batter-
ies are favoured for the power source of electric cars:
they have a high power to weight ratio. In recent years,
lithium batteries have improved immensely with a cor-
responding expansion in the use of portable power.
Lithium (atomic number, AN 3) is also the light-
est of the alkali metals: the others being sodium (AN
11), potassium (AN 19), rubidium (AN 37), cesium (or
caesium, AN 55) and francium (AN 87, a man-made
element). All these elements share a number of prop-
erties. Like sodium and potassium, the metal is very
unstable and will spontaneously combust if exposed
to air. In mineral lattices, it tends to occupy analogous
sites to those occupied by the other alkali metals, but
has a much smaller ionic radius than the next mem-
ber, sodium, and accordingly behaves somewhat differ-
ently, commonly also replacing magnesium.
Lithium was previously most well known for its
use in thermonuclear devices (hydrogen bombs) and
for the treatment of some mental conditions (bi-polar
disorder). However, the move towards electric vehi-
cles in recent years with the extinction of the internal
combustion engine expected within a few decades has
led to a massive increase in the demand for lithium, a
metal for which there were relatively limited uses pre- Kent Brooks
viously. At the present time, about 50 percent of the Museum of Natural History
lithium production is used in batteries and just under of Denmark, Copenhagen,
30 percent in ceramics and glass. Minor uses include Denmark
pharmaceuticals and the production of specialized kent2039@live.com
grease (lithium is used as a thickener, much improv-
ing the physical properties of lubricants). Will there
be enough lithium to satisfy rocketing demand? The
result is a renewed interest in lithium resources.
A cell phone uses ~3 g of lithium carbonate, a lap-
top ~30 g, a hybrid vehicle ~7 kg and an electric vehicle
25–50 kg. The biggest batteries are those used for elec-
tric grid storage, likely to use 500 kg/MWh. To put this
in perspective, Britain’s largest resource, the St. Aus-
tell Granite plausibly contains several million tonnes
of lithium or enough for a couple of hundred thou-
sand vehicles only. Consequently interest in deposits of
lithium has exploded and will intensify in the coming
years and the earth scientist will be challenged to find
new resources. Indeed, the British market alone would
use a substantial fraction of the world’s mined lithium
should all cars become electric and aims to achieve
zero-carbon economies could founder on this fact.
It is worth noting that on a cosmic scale, lithium is
quite a rare element as the thermonuclear reactions
(fusion of α-particles), which drive nucleosynthesis in
stars, tend to jump over elements 3, 4 and 5 (lithium,
beryllium and boron) to form carbon (element 6). This
means that the Earth was born with a deficiency in lith-
ium relative to elements like carbon, aluminium and iron.
The minerals of lithium
Lithium, a highly reactive metal, only occurs in nature
combined with other elements in a variety of miner-
als (Table 1). Of these, an important group mimic the

192 © John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Geologists’ Association & The Geological Society of London, Geology Today, Vol. 36, No. 5, September–October 2020
 MINERALS EXPLAINED 58

Table 1. Main lithium minerals

Mineral Formula Remarks

Spodumene LiAl Si2O6 A member of the pyroxene group
Holmquistite Li2(Mg,Fe)3Al2Si8O22(OH)2 A member of the amphibole group
Lepidolite K(Li,Al)3(Si,Al)4O10(F,OH)2 A member of the mica group (phylosillicate)
Polylithionite KLi2AlSi4O10(F,OH)2 Another member of the mica group
Zinnwaldite – No longer recognized as a distinct mineral (see text)
Hectorite Na0.3(Mg,Li)3Si4O10(OH)2 A clay mineral, related to montmorillonite
Cookeite (LiAl2)Al2(AlSi3O10)(OH)8 Chlorite group
Petalite LiAlSi4O10 Another phyllosilicate (sheet silicate)
Eucryptite Li(AlSiO4) A nesosilicate (like olivine) but related to phenakite (Be2SiO4)
Amblygonite (LiNa)Al(PO4)(F,OH) Phosphate
Lithiophyllite LiMn(PO4) Phosphate
Triphyllite LiFe(PO4) Phosphate
Elbaite Na(Li1.5Al1.5)Al6Si6O18(BO3)3(OH)4 Tourmaline group
Jadarite NaSiB3O7OH A recently discovered Li mineral

common rock-forming minerals, being in the form of
polymerized SiO44− groups: rings, chains, bands and
sheets (Fig. 1), which are held together by interstitial
lithium and aluminium ions. Thus, enstatite is a form
of pyroxene (and a common rock-forming mineral) and
has the formula MgSiO3 (= Mg2Si2O6), while spodumene
has Li+ + Al3+ in place of the 2Mg2+ (LiAlSi2O6).
Some lithium minerals are phosphates. Note that
lithiophyllite and triphyllite are end-members of a solid
solution series, that is, there is a continuous change of
composition between them. Two minerals in Table 1
are borates reflecting an affinity between lithium and
boron, seen also in brine deposits.
Several lithium minerals are prized as gem-
stones: spodumene, amblygonite (Fig. 2), petalite
and elbaite—a member of the tourmaline group. Of
these, spodumene and elbaite are the most important.
Amblygonite and petalite only occur rarely in gem
quality and they are both relatively soft (5.5–6 and
6–6.5, respectively). They also have a prominent cleav-
age, which makes them difficult to facette.
Elbaite occurs in a surprising range of colours. A
blue variety is called indicolite, a pink variety rubel-
lite (Fig. 3) and a green variety verdelite. In addition,
a colourless variety occurs, known as achoite, and one
zoned in reds to greens, known as ‘watermelon tour-
maline’ due to its resemblance to a watermelon when
sliced across the prism.
Spodumene
This will be discussed in a little more detail, as it is one
of the most important lithium minerals, not only a
gemstone but also a significant source of lithium. The
name is from Greek meaning ‘burnt to ashes’, a refer-
ence to its most common colour: grey, although other
striking colours occur, as seen in Fig. 3. Originally spo-
dumene and the related minerals of granite pegma-

Fig. 1. Arrangements of
SiO4 tetrahedra as found in
common rock-forming silicates,
emphasizing the lithium mineral
in each group. These units are
held together by other cations:
Fe2+, Mg2+, Al3+ or in this case Li+.

© John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Geologists’ Association & The Geological Society of London, Geology Today, Vol. 36, No. 5, September–October 2020 193
 MINERALS EXPLAINED 58

ally occurs only in small amounts (less than 100 ppm)

in common rocks (although some granites are excep-
tional: see below). In freshwater, its concentration is
less than 1 ppm and in seawater less than 0.2 ppm.
When magmas crystallize, lithium, in common
with other small or very large ions, is not incorpo-
rated into the crystal lattices of the rock-forming
minerals as it does not fit the structural sites. It thus
becomes concentrated into residual melts: it is one of
the ‘incompatible’ elements. Another group of incom-
patible elements have ions with a high charge, which
Fig. 2. Brazillian amblygonite also makes them difficult to fit into normal, rock-form-
gemstone with a size of ing minerals. Granite pegmatites are the latest prod-
8.9 × 7.0 mm and 1.72 carats. ucts of magmatic crystallization. They consist of large,
(Picture courtesy of The sometimes gigantic, crystals, whose growth is facili-
Arkenstone, iRocks.com.) tated by the high content of water and other volatile
species (also incompatible components). Such late
melts contain high concentrations of the incompatible
tites (eucryptite, lepidolite and petallite) were the main elements: lithium and other alkali metals, along with
source of lithium but this position became eclipsed by metals having highly charged ions, such as tin (Sn4+),
lithium from brines, which is much cheaper to extract. thorium (Th4+), zirconium (Zr4+) and niobium (Nb5+).
However, spodumene still has considerable importance Pegmatites, impressive bodies of huge crystals
as a source of lithium. Pure spodumene ideally con- (Fig. 4), often of unusual and beautiful minerals,
tains 8 percent Li2O. have been mined in many countries for the rare ele-
As noted above, spodumene is a type of pyroxene, ments (lithium, caesium, tin, rare earths, uranium,
whose basic structure consists of chains of SiO4 tet- thorium, etc.), which they contain. Examples are
rahedra. Each tetrahedron shares an oxygen ion with Kings Mountain, North Carolina and the Black Hills
its neighbour building up these chains, which are of North Dakotas (USA), Bernic Lake, Manitoba,
then held together by interstitial Li+ and Al3+ ions. Canada, Bikita, Zimbabwe and Greenbushes, Aus-
This structure gives an orthorhombic or monoclinic tralia. However, although pegmatites are common on
crystal symmetry and two perfect cleavages at almost all the continents, usually in Precambrian terranes,
right angles to each other, which is a disadvantage they are often not rare element enriched and of rela-
when the mineral is used as a gemstone as it is eas- tively small volume and it is unlikely that this source
ily broken along these cleavages. Spodumene is nor- can be substantially expanded. Spodumene, one of the
mally monoclinic (α-spodumene), but inverts to a most important minerals of pegmatites, was discussed
tetragonal form (β-spodumene above 900°C). Crys- above.
tals are typically striated. Greisens are late-stage granites, which have suf-
Spodumene may occur in extremely large crystals. fered high temperature alteration by magmatic vola-
For example, the Etta Mine in the Black Hills of South tiles. Such alteration is called ‘pneumatolytic’: high
Dakota, a crystal measuring 5 feet 4 inches (1.6 m) temperature alteration through the agency of a super-
in diameter and with a length of 42 feet (19.5 m) has critical fluid, frequently with a high fluorine compo-
been reported. Such a crystal would yield around 90 t nent (which also concentrates in the later stages of
of spodumene. magmatic evolution). However, it may also be hydro-
Gem quality spodumene comes in three varieties thermal in origin, that is caused by subcritical aque-
(Fig. 3). Kunzite shows a range of colours from pink ous solutions. These are mica–quartz rocks, often with
to purple. Green spodumene is known as hiddenite topaz and tourmaline, and the mica is usually referred
while yellow varieties are called triphane. These col- to as ‘zinnwaldite’, K(Li,Al,Fe)3(Al,Si)4O10(OH,F)2.
ours are caused by traces of transition metals such as However, the International Mineralogical Associa-
chromium and manganese. Some varieties are quite tion does not now regard this as a separate species, but
rare and the striking colours mean they can command an intermediate between two biotite end-members:
high prices for either cutting as gemstones or for sale siderophyllite (not lithium-bearing) and polylithionite
to mineral collectors. (Table 1). Greisens are also important in being major
sources of tungsten and tin.
Some granites are possible sources of lithium:
Where does lithium occur in nature?
the Cornish granites are an example. The Cornubian
There are three main sources of lithium in nature: batholith is exposed in 5 major plutons and 11 satel-
pegmatites, sedimentary rocks and brines. It gener- lite intrusions. These granites are regarded as ‘S-type’

194 © John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Geologists’ Association & The Geological Society of London, Geology Today, Vol. 36, No. 5, September–October 2020
 MINERALS EXPLAINED 58

Fig. 3. Colour varieties of

gem quality spodumene and
elbaite. a. Variety kunzite
(17.0 × 6.5 × 5.5 cm). b. Variety
hiddenite (17.0 × 6.5 × 5.5 cm).
c. Variety triphane
(6.5 × 3.0 × 2.3 cm). d. Shows
a typical elbaite sample, variety
rubellite. All crystals are from
localities in Afghanistan except
b, which is from North Carolina,
USA. (These pictures are courtesy
of The Arkenstone, iRocks.com.)

granites, that is, they originate by melting of sedimen-
tary precursors. Most of the granites are biotite gran-
ites, but three occurrences: Tregonning-Godolphin,
St. Austell and the Meldon aplite dyke have high lith-
ium, in the form of lithium mica, again often called
‘zinnwaldite’ (see above), which can contain up to
30 000 ppm lithium. These granites may contain other
lithium minerals such as amblygonite and elbaite, but
the mica is the only potential source of lithium and is
relatively easily recovered. One firm, British Lithium,
aims to mine enough lithium in Cornwall to supply
batteries for an annual production of 350 000 cars,
but this may be optimistic. Sedimentary lithium is also
exploited in the form of the clay mineral: hectorite.
This is dealt with below. At present, about three quar-
ters of the lithium derived from minerals comes from

© John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Geologists’ Association & The Geological Society of London, Geology Today, Vol. 36, No. 5, September–October 2020 195
 MINERALS EXPLAINED 58
hard rock deposits while one quarter comes from sedi-
mentary sources.
Lithium in continental brines
However, one of the most important sources of lithium
today is in brines. Of the approximately 31 million tonnes
of lithium produced annually, just over 60 percent is pro-
duced from these brines compared to 34 percent derived
from lithium minerals, while a small amount comes from
oilfield and geothermal brines in the western USA. Brine
deposits are found in basins where inflowing surface and
sub-surface waters are moderately enriched in lithium. If
there is no outlet from such basins, the water is removed
by solar evaporation leading to salt lakes and salt flats
with highly concentrated brines from which lithium and
other commodities, such as potassium and boron, may
be recovered. Typical localities occur in the western USA,
the Altiplano-Puna in the high Andes of Chile, Bolivia,
Argentina and Tibet (Fig. 5).
The Silver Peak operation in the Clayton Valley of
Nevada, USA, began in 1968 in a playa lake cover-
ing 72 km2, with a drainage basin of 1342 km2. At
the time the operation began by pumping brine from a
number of aquifers, the lithium content was 400 ppm,
although this has now declined.
Undoubtedly, the prime regions for lithium depos-
its of this type are the playa lakes and salt pans of the
high Andes in South America. There are reported to be
over 1560 intermontane basins in an internal drain-
age area of around 400 000 km2. High altitude and
aridity mean intense insolation and very high evapo-
196 © John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Geologists’ Association & The Geological Society of London, Geology Today, Vol. 36, No. 5, September–October 2020
Fig. 4. A typical lithium-
bearing pegmatite: the Manono
pegmatite in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo. Large
crystals are spodumene. (Picture
courtesy of AVZ Minerals, Perth,
Australia.)
Fig. 5. A playa lake or ‘salar’
in the Altiplano-Puna Plateau of
the Andes.
ration rates. The main minerals of these ‘salars’ are
halite and gypsum. The reason for high lithium values
in the brines is unknown, but is likely to be connected
to the volcanic activity, which is widespread in this
subduction zone environment.
Perhaps the most important of these deposits in
terms of lithium extraction is the Salar de Atacama
in Chile, which commenced production in 1984. This
is one of the largest playa lakes in the world covering
an area of approximately 3000 km2 with a catchment
area of approximately 11 800 km2. Commercial exploi-
tation utilizes brines with an average of 1500 ppm
lithium and the lithium comes both from geysers and
ground water. Other sites for lithium extraction in the
area are the Salar de Hombre Muerto, the Salar de
Olaroz and the Salar de Rincón, all in Argentina.
Another significant area of lithium extraction is
the Tibetan Plateau, where similar closed drainage
basins exist and the climate is extremely arid. Most
important is the Qaidam Basin in the north of the pla-
teau, which contains 28 salt lakes, numerous brackish
lakes and dry playas (salt flats). Again, the source of
lithium seems to be volcanic.
Geothermal waters and oilfield brines
A closely related source of lithium in future is likely
to be from geothermal waters, which commonly have
high lithium values. Probably the most advanced of
these projects is the Salton Sea in California where
10 power plants exploit geothermal resources. Waste
water from these plants is high in many metals and it
should be commercially viable to extract them. A now
defunct company Simbol Materials at one time showed
signs of teaming up with the electric car company
Tesla supplying lithium for the batteries. Cornish Lith-
ium aims to recover lithium from brines in Cornwall.

Fig. 6. Rio Tinto drilling
exploratory bore holes into the
Jadar deposit in Serbia. (©2018
Rio Tinto.)
© John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Geologists’ Association & The Geological Society of London, Geology Today, Vol. 36, No. 5, September–October 2020
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Oilfield brines, which contain similar concen-
trations of lithium: 0.01–0.05 percent, may be a
significant source of lithium in future. The Albe-
marle Corporation extracts bromine and, in future,
lithium from oilfield brines of the Magnolia plant
Arkansas.
Jadarite
An important recent discovery was made by the Rio
Tinto company in the Jadar Basin of Serbia (Fig. 6).
Here in 2004 exploratory drilling discovered a new
mineral with its name derived from the locality.
Jadarite is particularly attractive commercially as it
contains two elements of economic importance: lith-
ium and boron (see the formula in Table 1).
The origin of jadarite is not entirely clear. The
deposit is reported to contain 125.3 million tonnes
containing 1.8 percent lithium oxide and 13.1 per-
cent boron oxide. The mine is expected to have a life
of 50 years, but is still at the development phase with
production expected in 2023. This is one of the larg-
est lithium deposits in the world and is expected to pro-
duce 10 percent of the global lithium supply when it
comes on stream.
A strange coincidence is that the chemical compo-
sition of jadarite is very similar to the fictitious mate-
rial ‘kryptonite’, which appeared in the 2006 film
‘Superman Returns’. However, unlike kryptonite, it
does not glow in the dark.
MINERALS EXPLAINED 58
Hectorite
Hectorite deposits occur at San Bernardino County, Cal-
ifornia, USA and in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco,
among others. According to Table 1, hectorite is a clay
mineral that may result from alteration of volcanic glass,
the precipitation from lacustrine waters or the take-up of
lithium ions by pre-existing clay deposits. Most exploi-
tation of hectorite is not for its lithium content, but for
use in oil and gas drilling operations. However, a deposit
in the McDermitt Caldera on the boundary between
Nevada and Oregon contains measured resources of 7
million tonnes containing an average of 0.457 percent
lithium and is undergoing development. The Sonora
Deposit in northwest Mexico is another large deposit,
which is at the pre-feasibility stage.
Summary
Lithium is a critical element in modern technology
with steeply rising demand. Lithium minerals will
play a key role in the fight against climate change, but
it is often forgotten that new technology, in this case
the demand for lithium-ion batteries, is dependent on
an expanding supply of primary resources and when
these run out our options are curtailed. Resources
such as lithium occur in limited amounts on the Earth
and cannot continue supplying an ever-increasing and
ever-demanding human population. The US Geological
Survey estimates that worldwide resources are enough
to meet projected demand until 2100. However, actual
demand seems likely to exceed this projected demand
and the finding of new resources (already seen in the
switch to brines or the discovery of jadarite), combined
with improved recycling, will be needed if lithium is to
fulfil its envisaged role in combating climate change.
Suggestions for further reading
British Geological Survey. 2016. Lithium. Minerals UK,
Centre for Sustainable Mineral Development.
Bradley, D.C., Stillings, L.L., Jaskula, B.W., Munk, L.-A. &
McCauley, A.D. 2017. Lithium. In: Schulz, K.J., et al.
(eds). Critical mineral resources of the United States—
economic and environmental geology and prospects for
future supply, U.S. Geological Survey Professional
Paper, Vol. 1802, pp. K1–K21.
Bullough, F. 2018. Lithium: brines, batteries and
bottlenecks. https://blog.geolsoc.org.uk/2018/07/
02/lithium-brines-batteries-and-bottlenecks/.
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