Medaro Mining, a multi-faceted mineral explorer and a joint venture (JV) partner with Global Lithium Extraction Technologies provides a report on the latest performance gains concerning the venture’s advanced clean extraction technology which positively influences the total cost-effectiveness of the company’s lithium production technique.
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Medaro’s main developmental objective is to create spodumene concentrates of better mineralogical purity and to boost the lithium yield from a spodumene concentrate of any mineralogical purity.
Furthermore, the company is keen on minimizing the costs of drawing out lithium from a spodumene concentrate, as well as producing high-value byproducts from the silicon and aluminum found in spodumene, all as a means to balance the total production costs.
As reported in recent times, the Medaro process is a thermochemical solvent extraction method formulated to quickly manufacture lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) and/or lithium hydroxide (LiOH) from a range of spodumene (LiAlSi2O6)-rich concentrates.
Earlier results that specified consistent 90% recovery of lithium and 30% recovery of aluminum have at present been exceeded, with Medaro happy to state presently validated recovery rates between 95 and 100% for both elements.
With these favorable extraction percentages, the fundamental economics come into play according to the manner of manufacture and resultant byproduct quantities. Practically, in the Medaro process, carbon dioxide and spodumene react to develop individual masses of lithium carbonate, silica and alumina.
The effective “ideal” chemical reaction for this transformation is 2LiAlSi2O6 + CO2 → Li2CO3 + Al2O3 + 4SiO2. When this reaction reaches the finishing point, it can be demonstrated that the production of 1 ton of Li2CO3 results in the coproduction of 1.380 tons of alumina and 3.253 tons of silica, both possibly at commercial grades.
The creation of such huge relative amounts of silica and alumina holds a significant intrinsic advantage for Medaro, considering that both of these industrial minerals are extremely crucial in commerce worldwide.
This situation raises the likelihood that sales of these byproducts could totally offset the costs of processing spodumene concentrates using the Medaro technique – and considering this, its accomplishment has become an important part of Medaro’s work to further enhance its spodumene processing technology.
The strategies being applied to attain fruitful outcomes are to produce the silica and alumina in a state of high purity and to guarantee that their structural forms match the stipulations of profitable commercial markets.
We are thrilled by the latest reports showing significant increases in lithium extraction, alongside excellent prospects for production of high-grade alumina and silica. Given the utility and value of the latter materials, our economic models are indicating we may be rapidly approaching a break-even cost to produce lithium.
Faizaan Lalani, President, Medaro Mining
“When you combine our low-temperature processing method with the capability of deploying the technology to remote areas directly adjacent to mine sites, our overall economic metrics are poised to become the single most cost-effective means to process spodumene concentrates regardless of source or location,” Lalani continued.
As each step of our R&D moves us forward, we are increasingly confident that our partners, stakeholders, future clients, and shareholders will be increasingly impressed with the results of our efforts.
Faizaan Lalani, President, Medaro Mining