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Lithium
Lithium is a soft, silver-white metal that belongs to the alkali metal group of chemical elements. It is represented by the symbol Li, and it has the atomic number 3. Under standard conditions it is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly reactive and flammable. For this reason, it is typically stored in mineral oil. When cut open, lithium exhibits a metallic luster, but contact with moist air corrodes the surface quickly to a dull silvery gray, then black, tarnish. Because of its high reactivity, lithium never occurs free in nature, and instead, only appears in compounds, which are usually ionic. Lithium occurs in a number of pegmatitic minerals, but is also commonly obtained from brines and clays. On a commercial scale, lithium is isolated electrolytically from a mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride. Well over 95,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent was produced in 2008, more than double the amount from a decade earlier. Estimates of the current global end-use markets for lithium are as follows: batteries, 25%; ceramics and glass, 18%; lubricating greases, 12%; pharmaceuticals and polymers, 7%; air conditioning, 6%; primary aluminum production, 4%; continuous casting, 3%; chemical processing 3%; and other uses, 22%. Lithium use in batteries expanded significantly in recent years because rechargeable lithium batteries were being used increasingly in portable electronic devices and electrical tools. Interest and demand in lithium minerals has increased significantly, driven by the increased importance and production of lithium-ion batteries as the next generation power source. Currently lithium production supply and demand are relatively in balance, however there is a lithium supply deficit looming and new entrants to the market place will be needed. Global lithium output doubled to 92,000 tonnes in 2008 from 45,000 tonnes in 1997, and one major producer says demand will be over 200,000 tonnes in 2020. Lithium miners are reaping the benefits of a political and industry push to get more electric vehicles on the road. The main force driving growth is the push by U.S. and European governments to reduce carbon emissions, including a U.S. plan to increase fuel economy by 42 percent by 2016. The only way they can do that is by the electrification of vehicles - so more use of hybrids. A look at the new US economic stimulus plan offers insight into just how big governments want to make it so; $2.4 billion has been set aside in the federal economic stimulus law to be granted by the U.S. Department of Energy to speed development of technology for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Shai Agassi, the founder of Better Place, the most sophisticated electric-car enterprise in the world, projects the ebullient confidence of a man facing a giant wave of money. "Within less than this decade the No. 1–selling car in the world will be the electric car," he says. "It's the biggest financial opportunity the world has ever seen. We're seeing a $10 trillion shift in an industry in less than a decade. It's the Internet, and add another zero." The People's Republic has been busy creating a bourgeoisie, and the middle class does like to drive. Beijing's next five-year plan foresees at least 170 million new vehicles, or perhaps twice that, according to Agassi. The lower estimate alone is as many cars as there are in Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Britain combined. The 8 million barrels of oil that would be required every day to fuel them is about as much as the U.S. imports every day. "Do you know what the price of oil will be in five years if they're not using electric cars?" The electric sedan Agassi says will change the world, well, feels like a regular car. On the test track, the Renault four-door zooms smoothly down the straight, silent and more comfortable than, say, a Prius. The one similarity is that from a standing start there's a wee lag, more like the Prius than the G-force jackrabbit start of the Tesla, the torqued-up all-electric sports car with a base price of $108,000. "It's sub–10 seconds zero to 60," says Agassi, of his ride. "If you want to go zero to 60 in five seconds you want the Tesla. If you've got another five seconds to spare, I can save you $80,000."
*Past performance, future projections and past mining operation life expectancies are not a guarantee of future results. All rates of return and past results provided herein are for historical comparison purposes only. Investments involve financial risk of loss and may not be suitable for all investors.  About Us Gold Silver Copper Diamonds Lithium Investors Contact Us
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