Brine Lithium Resource in the Salt Lake and Advances in Its Exploitation

Abstract

As the global resources and environmental problem have become increasingly prominent,the development and utilization of lithium resources have attracted more and more attention.There exist a lot of lithium resources in the salt lake(probably 59% lithium resource is brine lithium),and hence it is important to develop and utilize brine lithium.This paper has discussed the distribution and chemical types of brine lithium deposits in the whole globe.According to the lithium carbonate production technology and production volume of main brine lithium manufacturers in the world,the authors analyzed the advances in the technology for extraction and utilization of lithium from the salt lake and pointed out that the brine lithium resource development and utilization in China should rely on local conditions and local materials,strengthen the development of downstream products of lithium carbonate,comprehensively develop and utilize the mineral resources of salt lakes,such as boron,potassium and magnesium,and constitute long-term strategic plan of lithium resource development andutilization at the national level.