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Articles on Lithium

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An aerial view of pools of brine that slowly evaporate, leaving behind lithium and other minerals, in the SQM mine in the San Pedro de Atacama desert, in northern Chile, on April 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

The importance of critical minerals should not condone their extraction at all costs

The temptation to justify critical minerals mining at all costs is a dangerous fallacy. The social and environmental impacts of poorly mined critical minerals are dire.
Aerial view of the Pinto Valley copper mine, located on private and U.S. national forest lands in Gila County, Ariz. Wild Horizon/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Gold, silver and lithium mining on federal land doesn’t bring in any royalties to the US Treasury – because of an 1872 law

Hard rock minerals like gold, silver, copper and lithium on public lands belong to the American public, but under a 150-year-old law, the US gives them away for free.
Long the industry standard, lithium-ion batteries come with considerable drawbacks that limit their widescale adoption as the grid-energy storage medium of choice. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

How zinc-ion batteries may solve our renewable energy storage problem

Lithium-ion batteries are holding back the full-scale decarbonization of Canada’s energy grid. Zinc-ion batteries may be the solution.
Lithium, essential for EV batteries, could be South America’s white gold. AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd

‘Global China’ is a big part of Latin America’s renewable energy boom, but homegrown industries and ‘frugal innovation’ are key

China is a major investor in Latin America’s renewable energy and critical minerals like lithium, but countries like Chile are also taking steps to secure their own clean energy future.
A farmer walks on a marshy shore of a river polluted by oil spills in Nigeria’s Niger delta, region. Pius Utomi Ekpei/ AFP

Greenwashing: energy companies make false claims about sustainability – they should be held to account

Energy firms are likely to lie about their corporate social responsibility to the environment. Their deception can be turned around for good if they are held accountable.
Automaker GMC shows off its Hummer EVs at a plant in Detroit. Nic Antaya/Getty Images

Making EVs without China’s supply chain is hard, but not impossible – 3 supply chain experts outline a strategy

China controls much of the global EV supply chain, but electric vehicles that use its parts and minerals won’t qualify for new US EV tax credits. Can America build its own supply chain?
A truck carries lithium carbonate at a lithium mine in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Photographer: Cristobal Olivares/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Nigeria’s latest lithium find: some key questions answered

For the moment the find in Nigeria simply points to the potential for lithium resource. Full exploration will be necessary.

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