Not Your Grandfathers Mining Industry, Nova Scotia, Canada

FAST FACTS!

• Along with hydrogen and helium, lithium was one of the three elements produced in large quantities by the Big Bang when the universe was created 13.8 billion years ago.
• Although lithium is a metal, it is soft enough to cut with a knife.
• Lithium is so light it can float on water. Because it is the lightest metal, it can be alloyed with other metals such as aluminum and copper to make strong lightweight metals.
• Lithium based batteries have revolutionized consumer devices such as computers and cell phones. For a given battery weight, lithium batteries deliver more energy than batteries based on other metals; in other words, lithium batteries have high energy density.
• Lithium gets its name from “lithos,” the Greek word for stone, because it is present in trace amounts in virtually all rocks. 
• In its pure form, lithium is highly flammable and slightly explosive when exposed to air and especially water.  As a result, it is not found in its pure form in nature. It is always found bound with one or more other elements or compounds.
• Lithium fires are difficult to put out. You can't use water as water will react with the lithium and could make the fire worse. A powder fire extinguisher is needed.
• Lithium has a wide range of medical applications, including as a treatment for bipolar disorder. Oddly, no one knows exactly how lithium works to stabilize moods - we just know that it does.
• Lithium was first detected as an element by Swedish chemist Johann August Arfvedson in 1817 when he was analyzing petalite ore. It was isolated in its pure form a year later by English chemist Humphry Davy. 

HOW LITHIUM IS FORMED

Along with hydrogen and helium, lithium was one of the three elements produced in large quantities by the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago. Scientists believe lithium was created within seconds or minutes of the Big Bang and before even most stars had formed.

There are theories that lithium is also produced in the recurring explosions of white dwarf stars. These explosions expel lithium and send it out into space.

As Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago, lithium and many other minerals and elements were brought together and helped build our planet. This is why lithium is found throughout the world in a variety of areas including seawater, mineral springs, and igneous rocks.

In its pure form, lithium is highly flammable and slightly explosive when exposed to air and especially water.  As a result, it is not found in its pure form in nature. It is always found bound with one or more other elements or compounds.

An artist's conception of the Big Bang.

USES OF LITHIUM

The Mount Palomar telescope's 200-inch mirror contains lithium. (Photo credit: http://www.astro.caltech.edu/palomar/about/telescopes/hale.html)

Lithium is used in a variety of ways.

Lithium’s most important use is in batteries. About 39% of world lithium supply is used in batteries. Lithium based batteries have revolutionized consumer devices such as computers and cell phones. For a given battery weight, lithium batteries deliver more energy than batteries based on other metals; in other words, lithium batteries have high energy density. Rechargeable lithium batteries are essential to making electric vehicles possible and “greening” transportation.

Rechargeable lithium batteries are a potential solution to the problem of storing renewable energy for those times when the sun does not shine and the wind does not blow.

Lithium is also used in some non-rechargeable batteries for things like heart pacemakers, toys and clocks.

Other Uses

• Because it is the lightest metal, lithium can be alloyed with other metals such as aluminum and copper to make strong lightweight metals. A magnesium-lithium alloy is used for armour plating. Aluminium-lithium alloys are used in aircraft, bicycle frames and high-speed trains.
• Lithium oxide is used in special glasses and glass ceramics, including the Mount Palomar telescope's 200-inch mirror. 
• Lithium chloride is one of the most hygroscopic materials known (it absorbs water from the air), so it is used in air conditioning and industrial drying systems.
• Lithium stearate is used as an all-purpose and high-temperature lubricant.
• Lithium hydride is used as a means of storing hydrogen for use as a fuel.
• Lithium hydroxide is used to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere of spacecraft and submarines. 

Lithium has many uses in medicine:

It is used to treat mental illnesses, including bipolar disorder, depression, and schizophrenia; for eating disorders, including anorexia and bulimia; and for blood disorders, including anemia and low white-cell count (neutropenia).

Lithium is also used as a treatment for headaches, alcoholism, epilepsy, diabetes, liver disease, kidney disorders, arthritis, a skin condition called seborrhea, and overactive thyroid.

Other uses include treatment of asthma, Huntington’s disease, Graves' disease, herpes simplex, a movement disorder called tardive dyskinesia, Tourette’s syndrome, cyclical vomiting, Meniere's disease, a tingling or “crawling” sensation in the skin (paresthesias), and aggressive behavior in people with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder.

LITHIUM IN NOVA SCOTIA

Lithium

Lithium’s use in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles has led to it being one of the most sought-after materials in the world. In Nova Scotia, several thousand mineral claims were newly-staked or purchased by exploration companies in a matter of months in 2016 as companies looked all over the globe for new lithium deposits. Several areas of Nova Scotia have potential for lithium, including Yarmouth County, the New Ross area and parts of Guysborough County. 

Exploration for lithium continues in Nova Scotia and hopefully we will one day be able to contribute to the global supply of this important material.

LITHIUM AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Electric cars need lithium for their batteries.

Lithium is an example of how new “green” products and technological advancements are only possible because of materials provided by mining. Lithium’s use in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles is helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions and our environmental footprint.

The world's fleet of electric vehicles was about 3.1 million in 2017 and is expected to grow to about 125 million by 2030, according to International Energy Agency forecasts. And most of those vehicles will need lithium for their batteries.