Developing a Domestic Source of Lithium in a Historic Corner of the UK - Cornish Lithium CEO, Jeremy Wrathall

The region of Cornwall in the UK has a rich mining heritage dating back to the Bronze Age. Once famous for its tin and copper mines, it's now seen as a source of lithium, which is crucial in the production of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs).

The UK mineral exploration and development company, Cornish Lithium, has just announced a $67 million initial investment. The funding  is expected to significantly accelerate progress toward the creation of a domestic supply of battery grade lithium compounds.

"Every tonne of lithium supplied domestically by Cornish Lithium is one tonne less that the UK needs to import from overseas, cutting the carbon footprint of lithium needed for domestic battery manufacturing and strengthening the UK’s car manufacturing supply chain," Cornish Lithium's CEO and founder, Jeremy Wrathall, tells Auto Futures.

Cornish Lithium is developing two different sources of the mineral each with their own extraction processes. The first source being developed is lithium from hard rock. The other source being lithium from geothermal waters.

"Cornish Lithium is seeking to utilise the most responsible processing technologies on both its hard rock and geothermal projects to minimise the carbon footprint of its activities and, in the case of its geothermal projects, help to decarbonise local businesses by providing geothermal heat," says Wrathall.

Lithium occurs in a flaky mineral called mica that in naturally occurs in Cornish granite. Its hard rock project is near St Dennis, Cornwall, where it is repurposing a pre-existing china clay pit. 

"Modern processing techniques allow us to extract the lithium by first extracting the lithium-bearing mica from crushed granite using a conventional mineral processing technique called “froth flotation”. This process produces a Li-mica concentrate which looks like a glittery powder. To generate the final product, Cornish Lithium uses the low carbon Lepidico process – which is less energy intensive than traditional hard rock processing as it does not utilise the high-temperature roasting," he explains.

For extraction from geothermal waters, the company utilising a variety of water treatment technologies including trialling Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technologies - which are environmentally friendly ways of extracting lithium from geothermal brines. 

"The various DLE technologies being trialled are more environmentally friendly and much lower impact than traditional mining and separation techniques. Each processing plant is effectively a small water treatment plant and will have a relatively small footprint." 

"The geothermal waters we are extracting from 2,000 metres below the surface are typically between 7-80 degrees centigrade - which can be utilised by local industry to reduce dependency on gas or other fossil fuels for their production processes. We may also be able to produce potable water, which could also be utilised to help alleviate the drought situation, which currently persists in Cornwall." says Wrathall.

Sustainable Extraction

By 2030, the UK is expected to need 80,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) to meet domestic demand to support the energy transition away from fossil fuels. 

"Demand for lithium is growing rapidly as the UK moves to ban the sale of conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) driven cars and mandate new passenger vehicle sales being 100% electric or hybrid by 2030," says Wrathall.

46% of lithium worldwide is produced in Chile and Argentina, and exploits naturally occurring lithium brines in the Atacama Desert. The recovery of lithium uses solar evaporation and is highly water intensive.

"Cornish Lithium aims to build a domestic supply of lithium for UK industry and will utilise sustainable extraction to reduce its environmental impact whilst also creating careers and opportunities to upskill in the local area. Such a domestic supply of lithium will also strengthen the UK automotive industry supply chain whilst also reducing the carbon footprint of that supply chain," he adds.

Creating Carbon-Free Heat in Cornwall

Finally, we asked Wrathall what are the next steps for Cornish Lithium, post-funding.

"At our Trelavour hard Rock Project , where Cornish Lithium plans to produce c.8,000 tonnes per year of battery-grade lithium hydroxide, the initial multi-million-pound funding package will enable the company to progress to a construction-ready state. This work includes completing the project’s feasibility study, building and operating a Demonstration Plant – which will create 30 fixed-term jobs and training opportunities in the near term - together with obtaining any necessary planning and permitting consents," he tells us.

The initial funding will also enable the company to progress its lithium in geothermal waters project portfolio.

"The investment will enable additional exploratory boreholes to be drilled across a wider area of Cornwall and associated studies to take place. Detailed engineering studies required to construct a geothermal demonstration site will also move forward, showcasing the potential to produce significant quantities of water and carbon-free heat for the benefit of industry and local communities," concludes Wrathall.