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 and grid-scale energy storage. 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
1790s
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.
1817
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.
1864
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.
1870s
Lithium compounds were first used in psychiatric medicine, particularly in the treatment of gout and mood disorders.
1940s
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.
1970s
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.
1991
Sony commercialised the first lithium-ion battery, revolutionising portable electronics. This innovation fuelled the rapid growth of mobile phones, laptops, and other handheld devices.
2000s
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.
Today
Lithium continues to be a pivotal material in addressing climate change and advancing technological innovation.
Why Cornwall?
Cornwall has a long and proud mining heritage. During its time as the mining capital of the world, the county became a centre of engineering innovation, home to major inventions and institutions such as Richard Trevithick’s high‑pressure steam engine and the Camborne School of Mines, which remains one of the world’s leading mining schools.
Mining has shaped Cornwall’s landscape and culture to such an extent that in 2006 UNESCO designated 20,000 hectares of its mining landscape as a World Heritage Site. Perhaps this legacy is reflected in strong public support for responsible mining today. A 2011 report found that most local residents believed reopening mines would bring significant socio‑economic benefits to a county that has relied 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 Lithium Project, we are 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 2 kilometre 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 Trelavour Lithium 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 Lithium 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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