Most of us are very familiar with the infamous “Bermuda Triangle” or the “Devil’s Triangle” as it is sometimes referred. It is one of those unexplained mysteries that has seen planes, ships and people seemingly vanish into thin air. The loosely defined area of the Western part of the North Atlantic has had a number of aircraft and ships go missing under the strangest of circumstances.
The “Lithium Triangle” on the other hand, is a term that not many of us are familiar with. The Lithium Triangle is a tri-country region that encompasses Chili, Argentina and Bolivia. This region is said to be home to 50-60 percent of the world’s highly coveted lithium resources. Lithium is the key component in lithium-ion batteries which store energy that produces power for cellphones, electricity grids and the ever increasing in popularity, (EV’s) electric vehicles. As the popularity of electric vehicles continues to rise, more attention will be focused on the ion-batteries that power them. Once this happens, the obscure term Lithium Triangle may not be so obscure. This region will play a huge role in meeting the increasing demand for battery-grade lithium carbonate. In fact, most estimates have demand for lithium carbonate quadrupling by the year 2025.
As demand increases and more and more lithium production is needed, the Sturtevant/Komarek classification, compaction and micronizing process will be very important to lithium carbonate producers everywhere. In fact, as lithium carbonate producers are drawn to more efficient process improvements, reduced energy costs will be a major driver. Sturtevant and Komarek have developed a process flow for milling, compacting and sizing that will save producers valuable dollars in reduced energy costs.
Contact us to learn more about the Sturtevant/Komarek classification, compaction and micronizing process.
