Lithium is incorporated within the metals to study Metallurgical Civil Engineering UdeC

Given the need for the diversification of the productive matrix of our country and the agreements signed by Chile to contribute to the progressive reduction in the consumption of fossil fuels, highly trained professionals are required to perform in non-metallic mining and advance in the lithium value chain.

For this reason, Metallurgical Civil Engineering began to teach – on August 19 – the subject “Lithium: fundamentals, applications and ways of extraction”which seeks to generate an approach to the extraction, processing and use of lithium resources with a focus on the theoretical foundation and examples of industrial processes with an important link with the large-scale productive sector.

The particularity of this branch is that, for the first time, a subject is taught about this strategic metal. The course is run by the Dr. Eugenia Araneda, Dr. Eduardo Balladares, Dr Igor Wilkomirsky Y Dr. Victor Parraall academics from the Department of Metallurgical Engineering (DIMET) and will also have the participation of professionals from the main lithium producer in Chile, SQM.

Students in this engineering major are expected to develop skills in this subject that contribute to their graduation profile such as: meeting the needs of the environment, promoting sustainable development; communicate effectively in their professional field, using English as a foreign language; understand the social responsibility and responsibility of their profession, as well as the economic, environmental and social impact in a global context, recognize the value of generating knowledge and continuous learning in updating and improving their professional skills.

It should be noted that, in recent decades, lithium has positioned itself as a strategic metal for the development of electromobility. This metal can be extracted from rock minerals, brines and from the recycling of lithium ion batteries. Chile has one of the largest reserves of lithium in the form of brine and extraction from these sources is unique and one of the most developed in the world today.