Currently, known global lithium reserves contain an estimated 21 million metric tons of this critical resource. These reserves exist in three forms: brine deposits , pegmatite deposits and sedimentary rocks . Of these, the former arguably offers the greatest promise for investors as much as for mining companies.
According to data collected by S&P Global , the margins of lithium brine operations are nearly double those of hard rock lithium production — more than outweighing the higher cost of lithium brine production. The fact that lithium can also be extracted from orphan oil wells is another point in favor of lithium brine extraction, as companies can repurpose existing infrastructure at a far lower cost than would be required to construct an entirely new operation.
To understand why, one must first understand how brine extraction works .
For further details see:
Low Cost, High Margins: Lithium Brine Extraction