| Location | |
|---|---|
  Jiajika mine  Jiajika mine | |
| Sichuan | |
| Country | China |
| Coordinates | 30°17′46″N101°18′07″E / 30.296°N 101.302°E |
| Production | |
| Products | Lithium |
The Jiajika mine is one of the largest lithium mines in China. [1] The mine is located in Tagong township, Sichuan province, central China. [1]
The Jiajika mine has reserves amounting to 80.5 million tonnes of lithium ore grading 1.28% lithium thus resulting 1.03 million tonnes of lithium. [1]
The Jiajika mine has polluted the environment. It has killed fish in Liqi River and killed yaks in the nearby grassland. The contaminated water also killed people. [2]
Lithium is a chemical element; it has symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly reactive and flammable, and must be stored in vacuum, inert atmosphere, or inert liquid such as purified kerosene or mineral oil. It exhibits a metallic luster. It corrodes quickly in air to a dull silvery gray, then black tarnish. It does not occur freely in nature, but occurs mainly as pegmatitic minerals, which were once the main source of lithium. Due to its solubility as an ion, it is present in ocean water and is commonly obtained from brines. Lithium metal is isolated electrolytically from a mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride.
Ravensthorpe is a town 541 km south-east of Perth and 40 km inland from the south coast of Western Australia. It is the seat of government of the Shire of Ravensthorpe. At the 2021 census, Ravensthorpe had a population of 2,085.
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Mining in Western Australia, together with the petroleum industry in the state, accounted for 94% of the State's and 46% of Australia's income from total merchandise exports in 2019–20. The state of Western Australia hosted 123 predominantly higher value and export-oriented mining projects and hundreds of smaller quarries and mines. The principal projects produced more than 99 per cent of the industry's total sales value.
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Zijin Mining Group Co., Limited is a multi-national mining company headquartered in Mainland China.
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Tanco Mine or Bernic Lake mine is an underground caesium and tantalum mine, owned and since 2019 owned and operated by Sinomine Resource Group on the north west shore of Bernic Lake, Manitoba, Canada. The mine has the largest known deposit of pollucite and is also the world's largest producer of caesium.
Zabuye Lake is a hypersaline, landlocked soda lake located at an elevation of 4,400 metres (14,400 ft) in the Shigatse Prefecture of Tibet Autonomous Region, 1,050 km (650 mi) from Lhasa. The lake gives its name to the mineral zabuyelite (lithium carbonate, Li2CO3), which was discovered here in 1987 and has been mined since 2004–2005. In 2008, the salt mine at the lake was regarded as the major source of lithium in China.
The Jadar mining project is a proposed mining site. The deposit is one of the largest lithium deposits in the world and also contains boron. It is planned that both lithium and boron will be recovered from the ore. The deposit contains the mineral jadarite, the only occurrence of this mineral in the world. The mine is located in western Serbia in Mačva District. The Jadar mine has reserves amounting to 118 million tonnes of ore grading 1.8% lithium oxide The deposit was discovered in 2004 and in 2017 the Rio Tinto Group planned to start mining operations in 2023.
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The Mt Cattlin mine is a spodumene-tantalite mine 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi) north of Ravensthorpe, Western Australia. In 2019 Mt Cattlin had a reserve of 8.2 million tonnes of ore grading 1.29% Li2O and 155 ppm Ta2O5.
The Bikita mine is the largest lithium mine in Zimbabwe. The privately owned company holds the world’s largest-known deposit of lithium at approximately 11 million tonnes. The mine is located in southern Zimbabwe in Masvingo Province. The Bikita mine has reserves amounting to 10.8 million tonnes of lithium ore grading 1.4% lithium thus resulting 0.15 million tonnes of lithium.
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The Manono-Kitolo mine is a former tin and coltan mine, which also contains one of the largest lithium reserves globally, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The mine is located in southern Democratic Republic of the Congo in Tanganyika Province. The Manono-Kitolo mine has reserves amounting to 120 million tonnes of lithium ore grading 0.6% lithium thus resulting 0.72 million tonnes of lithium.
The Salar de Olaroz mine is one of the largest lithium mines in Argentina. The mine is located in northern Argentina in Jujuy Province. The Salar de Olaroz mine has reserves amounting to 619 million tonnes of lithium ore grading 0.2% lithium thus resulting 1.21 million tonnes of lithium.
The Alakhinskoye mine is one of the largest lithium mines in Russia. The mine is located in southern Russia in Altai Republic. The Alakhinskoye mine has reserves amounting to 218 million tonnes of lithium ore grading 0.8% lithium thus resulting 1.74 million tonnes of lithium.
Tianqi Lithium Corp is a Chinese mining and manufacturing company based in Sichuan.
The Bald Hill Lithium and Tantalum Mine is a lithium mine in Australia. It was closed, but is being re-opened for tantalum production. It previously was operated as a tantalum mine by Haddington International Resources. The mine comprises approximately 774 square kilometres in Western Australia's Eastern Goldfields Coolgardie Municipal area. It is located approximately 60 kilometres south east of Kambalda and around 50 kilometres east of Widgiemooltha.
Australia has one of the biggest lithium reserves and is the biggest producer of lithium by weight, with most of its production coming from mines in Western Australia. Most Australian lithium is produced from hard-rock spodumene, in contrast to other major producers like Argentina, Chile and China, which produce it mainly from salt lakes.