What is lithium and why do we need it?
Lithium is an important metal used in batteries because of its lightweight and highly conductive properties.
It is used to make power cells for everyday electronic devices, including laptops and smartphones, as well as for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Lithium is also a key component in battery storage systems used with solar panels and offshore wind farms.
The name lithium comes from the Greek word “lithos”, which means stone.
A history of lithium
On the Swedish isle of Utö, a Brazilian statesman named José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva discovered the first petalite, a mineral which contained lithium.
Johan August Arfwedson analysed the petalite further and realised it contained a previously unknown metal, which he named lithium. However, it wasn’t until 1855 when Augustus Matthiessen, a British chemist, was able to isolate the lightest known metal.
Lithium was first discovered in Cornwall when saline water from United Mines near Redruth was analysed by Professor William Allen Miller of Kings College London. In the 19th century, lithium remained a laboratory curiosity for decades after its discovery. It was used in small-scale applications such as medicine for its calming effects.
Lithium compounds were first used in psychiatric medicine, particularly in the treatment of gout and mood disorders.
Lithium's role expanded during World War II when it was used in high-temperature lubricants and in the production of aircraft parts due to its light weight.
Lithium-ion technology began to emerge. The first rechargeable lithium battery was developed by M. Stanley Whittingham, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2019.
Sony commercialised the first lithium-ion battery, revolutionising portable electronics. This innovation fuelled the rapid growth of mobile phones, laptops, and other handheld devices.
Lithium became a cornerstone of renewable energy and electric vehicles, spurred by increasing demand for sustainable energy solutions. Its use in grid-scale battery systems also began to take shape. Lithium mining expanded significantly to meet growing global demand. Producers include Australia, Chile, China, and Argentina.
Lithium continues to be a pivotal material in addressing climate change and advancing technological innovation.
Why Cornwall?
Cornwall is one of the most geologically prospective regions of the UK. The county has a rich mining heritage dating back to the Bronze Age, when it was discovered that incorporating small amounts of tin into copper made it easier to work with than pure copper. Between 1700 and 1914, the region was key in driving the creation of England’s industrial economy. In the 18th century, the ‘Cornubian Orefield’ was the centre of the mining world – producing more copper and tin than anywhere else across the globe. Its dominance continued until the turn of the 20th century, when falling metal prices and cheaper mines around the world took over. Tin mining persisted longer than other commodities but the collapse of the tin price in the 1990s led to the closure of South Crofty, the last operating metal mine in Cornwall, in 1998.
During its time as the mining capital of the world, Cornwall was home to many inventions and scientific institutions, including the first high pressure steam engine invented by Richard Trevithick, and Camborne School of Mines, which remains one of the top mining schools in the world today. Cornwall’s landscape has been shaped by mining, and the industry is ingrained in the culture of the county, so much so that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated 20,000 hectares of it a World Heritage Site in 2006. Perhaps due to this legacy, public perception of the mining industry in the South West is strongly positive, with a 2011 report suggesting that the majority of local residents believe that the reopening of mines would be a significant socio-economic boost for a county that has been forced to rely heavily on tourism in recent decades.
Frequently asked questions
In Cornwall, lithium is found in two main forms: within mica minerals in granite rock and dissolved in geothermal fluids (brines) that flow deep underground. Cornish Lithium’s exploration focuses on both lithium in hard rock and geothermal brines.
At our Trelavour Hard Rock Project, Cornwall Lithium is repurposing a former china clay pit and seeking to redevelop former pits for waste storage. In relation to our geothermal projects, Cornish Lithium first recognised the presence of lithium in saline waters in Cornwall from historic records made at the time when the county had a significant mining industry. The miners frequently encountered geological faults (large naturally-occurring cracks in the earth) from which flowed significant quantities of hot saline water. Such occurrences in old mines demonstrate a much larger geological phenomenon which Cornish Lithium believes could be widespread across the county; as a result the company is not focussing on the old mines themselves but on the geological structures which contain the circulating lithium-enriched fluids. Cornish Lithium plans to drill extraction boreholes into these fracture zones and does not therefore need to reopen old mines, or to extract water from the mines themselves. We plan to drill boreholes to extract fluids from 2km depth and so will bypass old mine workings.
Lithium is our primary focus. However, as we build our knowledge of the geology, structures and mineralisation in Cornwall we are discovering areas which offer very good potential for other metals such as copper, cobalt, tin and other metals which are vital to the development of modern technologies including batteries.
Some of our mineral rights agreements give us the ability to explore for other minerals in addition to lithium and hence we are actively prioritising areas that could be of interest. Our use of advanced digital mapping and modelling techniques gives Cornish Lithium the ability to“see”mineralisation that could be exploited using modern mining methods.
The environmental impacts depend on the extraction methods used. The process used in our geothermal lithium extraction plants can be likened to a water purification system. Mineral-rich water is pumped from approximately 2,000 metres below the surface via a borehole and passed through columns where the lithium is extracted from the water. With the lithium removed, the water is returned to the ground via a second borehole. The plant will have a footprint the size of a supermarket or medium-sized industrial unit. Direct extraction of lithium from geothermal fluids using cutting-edge technology is the most environmentally responsible method available.
Our Hard Rock Project near St Dennis is repurposing a former china clay pit to produce lithium. We plan to extract lithium from hard rock in the pit and use a new process technology. This extraction method should have a significantly lower carbon footprint compared to other hard rock lithium extraction processes used elsewhere in the world.
Cornish Lithium strive to ensure that the impacts of all our projects are kept to a minimum.
Cornish Lithium’s Trelavour Hard Rock Project alone is expected to produce 10,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide annually, which will considerably strengthen the UK’s critical minerals supply chain and reduce the UK’s reliance on importing carbon-intensive materials from abroad.
The project will create around 300 highly-skilled jobs and generate up to £800 million for the Cornish economy over its 20-year life.
Reviving a 4,000-year-old mining industry in Cornwall presents a tremendous opportunity to boost the local economy, and Cornish Lithium is committed to playing a key role in this transformation in an environmentally responsible manner.
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