“Chile can lead the lithium boom”: UdeC academics and the National Extraction Strategy

A few weeks ago, the Government presented the National Strategy for the exploitation of Lithium, which hopes to develop this key industry. UdeC researchers emphasized taking advantage of the opportunity and hope that the promise of working for the benefit of the communities is fulfilled.

Katerinne Pavez MarchantJournalist UdeC.- The National Lithium Strategy It was presented a few weeks ago and has generated a wide debate in the business, academic and political world. It is a plan that seeks to develop this industry, with a combination of capital contribution, technological innovation and market networks from the private sector and a long-term strategic vision from the State.

The plan considers the creation of the National Lithium Companya technological institute and a public research center; build a network of protected salt flats, ensure the use of technologies with low environmental impact, incorporate the State in the productive activity of the Salar de Atacama and prospecting for other salt flats

One of the relevant points proposed by the plan is the use of new technologies to make lithium exploitation more sustainable. “For this, it is necessary to invest in direct extraction technologies, which are still being developed on a laboratory scale, as opposed to the concentration by solar evaporation in swimming pools that is currently used and which, although very cost-effective, evaporates the water at the atmosphere and a very smaller fraction of brine returns to the salt flats,” said the Chemical Engineering academic, Deputy Director and researcher of the Water Resources Center for Agriculture and Mining, Pedro Toledo Ramírez.

All these tasks are added to the need to advance in the mineral value chain to go from exporting raw brine to high-value refined salts and for this “substantial resources are required that the country does not have. Hence the importance of clarifying soon the advantages for private companies that must provide the resources”, indicated the academic.

ride the boom

One of the phrases that have been heard in recent days is that the agencies in charge of developing the strategy must act quickly to take advantage of the development of this industry worldwide. Although it is not possible to anticipate what will happen in the long term with the price of lithium, “the truth is that the current price cycle will not last forever and therefore not being part of it more aggressively in terms of supply leaves us something apart from the benefits, ”explained the doctor in Metallurgical Engineering and academic of the Faculty of Engineering, Eduardo Balladares Varela.

The speed with which agreements with private parties are reached is key for the strategy to be implemented and the same with the relationship with the communities where the mineral is planned to be exploited, in addition to the Salar de Atacama, which is the most relevant today. In this regard, Balladares assured that although “there is an explicit declaration from the authority that part of the benefits of exploitation should generate improvements in the living conditions of the communities.” Therefore, “depending on how much of these benefits and how they are invested in these areas, such resources may generate the desired improvements. In any case, the new strategy should lead to a better scenario in terms of benefits for the communities”.

Another benefit for the community is linked to the protection of the environment. “This will be possible to the extent that the evaporative concentration method is replaced, which is criticized because it evaporates and “loses” water in the desert and reinjects little brine, with a direct extraction technology that literally removes lithium from the brine and the remaining brine is reinjected into the salt flat, incidentally ensuring that these operations are without affecting the ecosystem that includes the communities and the environment”, indicated Professor Toledo.

With this technology, and concretizing the other steps that the strategy promises, Chile would be on a good footing to lead the exploitation of the mineral. “Our country has the largest lithium reserves, the largest salt flat with brine to be immediately treated in the refining process and together with China and South Korea, they are the only ones that refine,” Toledo said.

“Chile is not far from leading the lithium boom; for example, doubling the installed refining capacity. This could be done tomorrow if the interests and competences of the State and private parties in favor of the country are sincere ”, he added.

investigate lithium

Another opportunity offered by the new strategy is to research and develop innovations around lithium. Professor Balladares pointed out that what is expected is for the State to articulate the capacities in terms of R&D, those that are housed in different universities and research centers at the national level. For his part, he assures that his research team has several ideas and projects. “Some of these ideas will be presented to ANID competitive funds and others will be carried out directly with financing from the industry,” he said.

The research topics that are opened are wide. Pedro Toledo indicated that some of them are the development of a direct lithium extraction technology, another that conditions brines to be treated in the current refining methods and the quality of products with less water consumption. From their area of ​​work, they have contributed, over the years, “chemicals that are not offensive to the environment for the different processes in the production of refined lithium from brines, as in Chile, and also to the concentration of lithium at from rocks, as in Australia. Currently, we are exploring a lithium extraction method, and we are advancing in a lithium brine conditioning process. By the way, we train professionals who generally find space in this industry”.