on the Salar in 1988. Evaluations of the
results were analyzed, and AMAX
announced its decision to sell its portion
of the project in 1990.11
Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile
(SQM) bought AMAX's interest in the
project in the second half of 1992. SQM
is a Chilean fertilizer producer and its
interest in the MINSAL project is for the
potash that would be produced as a raw
material for its potassium nitrate plant.
Production of lithium carbonate is
important to the economics of the project.
Production of 9,000 tons per year of
lithium carbonate, the second stage of the
project, should begin by the end of the
century.'2 SQM had been negotiating
with FMC to develop the lithium portion
of the project, but FMC withdrew from
discussions.'3
China.-Lithium pegmatite and brine
deposits are worked in China, but specific
information about any of the deposits is
not available. Lithium carbonate and
hydroxide from China has been marketed
in Germany, Japan, and the Netherlands.
France.-Lithium metal is produced
by Metaux Speciaux SA in Plombieres St.
Marcel, Savoie.  The plant has the
capacity to produce 25 tons per year of
very high-purity metal for use in
aluminum-lithium alloys. The company
is a subsidiary of Pechiney.'4
Genmany.--Germany has been a major
producer of lithium compounds, although
no lithium ore is mined there. Chemetall
GmbH, a member of the
Metallgesellschaft Group AG, produced
downstream lithium compounds and metal
from lithium carbonate imported from the
United States and other countries. The
company's lithium operations are in
Langelsheim.
Japan.-Japan is a major consumer of
lithium compounds, some of which it
produces from imported lithium
carbonate. FMC and the Honjo Chemical
Co. have a joint venture, Asia Lithium
Corp., to market FMC's lithiumproducts
in Japan. Asia Lithium operated a 100-


ton-per-year battery-grade lithium metal
operation in Kagawa to meet the demands
of the large lithium battery industry in
Japan. Yahagi Iron Co. also produced
lithium metal in Nagoya.
Namibia.-Southwest Africa (SWA)
Lithium Mines produced petalite
concentrate at its Rubicon Mine near
Karibib.    Low-grade  ores  were
beneficiated through a flotation process,
while high-grade ores were hand picked.
Small amounts of two other lithium
minerals, lepidolite (lithia mica) and
amblygonite (lithia alumina phosphate),
were other products.  The Federal
Republic of Germany imported most of
these concentrates. High-grade lepidolite
was hand picked at the company's
Helicon Mine for export to Western
Europe and Japan.'5
Portugal. -Lithiumhas been produced
inconsistently in Portugal. Recent reports
indicate that production has gone up
significantly in recent years, but details
on the operations and markets are not
available. Past lithium production had
been lepidolite.
United Kingdom.-Lithium Corp. of
Europe   operates  a   facility  in
Bromborough, Mersyside, for the
production of lithium metal and
butyllithium.  Lithium carbonate and
lithium chloride are imported from its
parent company, FMC.
Former U.S.S.R.-Lithium ores,
compounds, and metal were produced in
the former U.S.S.R., but no details were
available.  The majority of lithium
production is believed to be from the
Kola Peninsula in Russia.
Zmbabwe.-Bikita   Minerals  Ltd.
mined petalite, another lithium mineral,
near Masvingos.   Although the ore
reserves  were  becoming  depleted,
installation of a dense-media separator
made it possible to recover lithium in the
form of petalite averaging about 4.4%
lithium oxide from a stockpile of
previously rejected  material.  This


extended the estimated mine life 30 years.
Hand sorting, the method used since the
mining began in 1916, amassed a
stockpile of more than 1 million tons that
could be recovered with a significant
savings in mining costs after installation
of the new   device.   Hand sorting
continued to be used only for special
small orders of minerals other than
petalite.16 (See table 6.)
OUTLOOK


The health of the lithium industry is
closely tied to the performance of the
primary aluminum industry. Reduced
consumption of lithium in the aluminum
industry has once again had a negative
effect on lithium consumption. Demand
for lithium compounds and minerals in
the ceramics and glass industry continues
to grow modestly. Similar increases are
expected for the near future.
Demand for butyllithiumis expected to
continue to increase, and both domestic
producers have increased production
capacity to meet that demand. Demand
for lithium metal for batteries and to
some extent for alloys should increase,
but total consumption of metal will
remain small in comparison to the
demand lithium compounds for the short
term. The fate of the lithium battery
market will be largely dependent on the
success of electric vehicles and whether
the best type of battery for powering
them finally is determined to be some
form of lithium battery.
Other markets should remain relatively
stable with slight growth.  Lithium
demand could increase dramatically if any
of the new technology areas such as
nuclear fusion were perfected. This is
not expected to occur within the
remainder of this century and probably
not within the next 25 years.
The United States should remain the
largest producer of lithium carbonate until
production of lithium carbonate from
SQM project in Chile. At that time,
Chile should become the leading producer
of lithium compounds in the world.


LlTHIUM-1993




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