Lithium

Read our Industry Close-up about Lithium

A combination of public and private investments are helping to drive several major lithium projects in the United States. Lithium, once refined, is used to produce cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries to power electric vehicles. Lithium is found in different types of deposits ranging from hard rock to clay deposits and underground brine pools. The related leaching process of brine pools as well as other mining/extraction scenarios are performed under highly corrosive conditions. Stainless steel is the ideal material selection for high performance in corrosive environments. Auxilliary equipment, such as sulfuric acid plants, also require stainless steel in their construction.

Brine Applications

• Precipitation reactors
• Dilution clarifiers
• Filter tanks
• Ion exchange tanks
• Vacuum filters
• Centrifuge components
• Pneumatic transport
• Air classifiers

Spodumene Applications

• Mining crusher equipment
• Cyclone and ball mill components
• Classifiers
• Flotation cell tanks
• Tailing equipment
• Concentrate thickeners
• Pressure filtration systems
• Preheater kilns and gas suspension calciner
• Acid roasters
• Reactors

Performance

• Excellent corrosion resistance
• Reduced maintenance costs in service
  Improved process reliability/uptime
• Long service life, low life-cycle cost