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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.
Humboldt County is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 17,285. It is a largely rural county that is sparsely populated with the only major city being Winnemucca which has a population of 8,431. Humboldt County comprises the Winnemucca, NV Micropolitan Statistical Area and serves as an important crossroads in the national transportation network. Interstate 80 travels through the southeastern corner of the county, meeting US 95 in Winnemucca that serves as a primary freight corridor between Northern Nevada and Boise, Idaho and the Interstate 84 freight corridor that links much of the Pacific Northwest. The original transcontinental railway, constructed by the Central Pacific Railroad, reached Humboldt County on September 16, 1868. The Western Pacific Railroad would reach Humboldt County by November 1909, providing two mainline rail links to California and the Eastern United States. Both railroads have since been acquired by the Union Pacific Railroad, who continues to serve the region today.
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.
Mining in Australia has long been a significant primary sector industry and contributor to the Australian economy by providing export income, royalty payments and employment. Historically, mining booms have also encouraged population growth via immigration to Australia, particularly the gold rushes of the 1850s. Many different ores, gems and minerals have been mined in the past and a wide variety are still mined throughout the country.
Hectorite is a rare soft, greasy, white clay mineral with a chemical formula of Na0.3(Mg,Li)3Si4O10(OH)2.
In the United States, copper mining has been a major industry since the rise of the northern Michigan copper district in the 1840s. In 2017, the US produced 1.27 million metric tonnes of copper, worth $8 billion, making it the world's fourth largest copper producer, after Chile, China, and Peru. Copper was produced from 23 mines in the US. Top copper producing states in 2014 were Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, and Montana. Minor production also came from Idaho and Missouri. As of 2014, the US had 45 million tonnes of known remaining reserves of copper, the fifth largest known copper reserves in the world, after Chile, Australia, Peru, and Mexico.
In the United States, gold mining has taken place continually since the discovery of gold at the Reed farm in North Carolina in 1799. The first documented occurrence of gold was in Virginia in 1782. Some minor gold production took place in North Carolina as early as 1793, but created no excitement. The discovery on the Reed farm in 1799 which was identified as gold in 1802 and subsequently mined marked the first commercial production.
Mining in Afghanistan was controlled by the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, prior to the August 15th takeover by the Taliban. It is headquartered in Kabul with regional offices in other parts of the country. Afghanistan has over 1,400 mineral fields, containing barite, chromite, coal, copper, gold, iron ore, lead, natural gas, petroleum, precious and semi-precious stones, salt, sulfur, lithium, talc, and zinc, among many other minerals. Gemstones include high-quality emeralds, lapis lazuli, red garnet and ruby. According to a joint study by The Pentagon and the United States Geological Survey, Afghanistan has an estimated US$1 trillion of untapped minerals.
The total cultivable area in India was reported as 155,369,076 hectares as of 2020, and is shrinking due to over-farming, increased livestock grazing, deforestation, urban growth, and severe weather events. India has a total water surface area of 314,070 km2.
The 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 Bessemer City mine is one of the largest lithium mines in the United States. The mine is located in eastern United States in North Carolina. The Bessemer City mine has reserves amounting to 62.3 million tonnes of lithium ore grading 0.67% lithium thus resulting 0.42 million tonnes of lithium.
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% Li
2O and 155 ppm Ta
2O
5.
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.
The Kamativi mine was one of the largest tin mines in Zimbabwe. The mine is located in western Zimbabwe in Matabeleland North Province. The Kamativi mine has reserves amounting to 100 million tonnes of tin ore grading 0.28% tin thus resulting 0.28 million tonnes of tin. The tin and tantalum mine was operated from 1936 until 1994. Since the mine's closure, local artisanal miners have worked the pegmatite for cassiterite and tantalite.
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 Vishnyakovskoe mine is one of the largest lithium mines in Russia. The mine is located in southern Russia in Irkutsk Oblast. The Vishnyakovskoe mine has reserves amounting to 42 million tonnes of lithium ore grading 0.49% lithium thus resulting 0.2 million tonnes of lithium.
The McDermitt Caldera is a large, oval-shaped caldera west of McDermitt in southeastern Oregon and northern Nevada in the United States. It is about 28 miles (45 km) long north–south and 22 miles (35 km) wide east–west. The western part of the caldera is in the Trout Creek Mountains, and the northern part is in the Oregon Canyon Mountains. The highest point of the McDermitt Caldera is Jordan Meadow Mountain at 6,816 feet (2,078 m), which is part of the Montana Mountains of Humboldt County, Nevada.
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.
References
- 1 2 3 "Global lithium resources" (PDF). uchile.cl. 2012. Retrieved 2013-07-02.[ permanent dead link ]
- ↑ Bradley, Dwight C.; Stillings, Lisa L.; Jaskula, Brian W.; Munk, LeeAnn; McCauley, Andrew D. (2017). Lithium, Chapter K of Critical Mineral Resources of the United States—Economic and Environmental Geology and Prospects for Future Supply (PDF) (Report). United States Geological Survey.
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