China scientists discover huge lithium deposit in Everest region

[casual]

An official science publication in China is trumpeting what its quoted geologists called a “breakthrough” discovery of lithium in the same region as Mount Everest.

The hard-rock resource has the potential to host the third-biggest mine of its kind in China, according to ScienceNet.cn, a website backed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, or CAS. It’s located some 3 kilometers from the Qiongjiagang peak in the region of the world’s highest mountain.
To be sure, it’s an early-stage discovery, and there’s plenty of global mineral deposits that look promising but end up not being viable.
But the world needs massive amounts of new lithium supplies to feed accelerating demand in electric vehicles and energy storage. And for China, finding viable domestic sources would be welcome as the country relies on imports for more than 70% of its supplies, even as it dominates global battery production.

Read More: Lithium supply crunch Part II – this time it’s for real

The newly-discovered resource is a type of lithium-bearing rock called spodumene, an alternative to the brine lakes that dominate supply in China and in South America. The ore deposit on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau could hold as much as 1.0125 million tons of lithium oxide, according to the cited CAS geologists.
The project is still in the very first of four stages, with the final being full exploration to come up with a detailed mine plan, according to the report. The potential mine site is also far from the core nature reserve of Mount Everest and has suitable transport links, the cited experts said.
The media attention on this mineral find comes with prices of lithium rocketing higher amid tight supplies. Lithium carbonate in China gained more than 400% in China last year, and nearly 50% so far in 2022.
(By Annie Lee, with assistance from Ocean Hou, Kevin Ding and Peng Xu)

China scientists discover huge lithium deposit in Everest region

The hard-rock resource has the potential to host the third-biggest mine of its kind in China, according to ScienceNet.cn.

www.mining.com

China's western plateau regions are only now being seriously surveyed for mineral deposits. Together with rapidly improving transport links in the area I've bet that China's plateau region is headed for massive development in the coming years. Expect more discoveries that will make western countries green with envy.

 

[nang2]

Probably too expensive to process, comparing with brine deposits.

 

[casual]

Probably too expensive to process, comparing with brine deposits.

No, processing costs are negligible. Lithium prices are $8000 per ton currently and rapidly increasing.

edit: info was outdated. latest prices for lithium are around $65300 per ton

 

[Dual Wielder]

I for one approve the trimming of Everest, for far too long it has hogged all the lime light at the expense of its distant cousin (K2)..

 

[Tshering22]

I for one approve the trimming of Everest, for far too long it has hogged all the lime light at the expense of its distant cousin (K2)..

You realize that the ecology in the Himalayas is very sensitive right? Industry and economic growth is good, but ecology is equally important. Lithium mining is considered very damaging to the environment, much like the larger rare-earth mining sector.

As someone belonging to a mountain state, I can tell you that this is not an area where we can tamper with nature in this area. The ridges and valleys around Everest is not populated (except small base camps), but it will still impact the wider region.

 

[casual]

You realize that the ecology in the Himalayas is very sensitive right? Industry and economic growth is good, but ecology is equally important. Lithium mining is considered very damaging to the environment, much like the larger rare-earth mining sector.

As someone belonging to a mountain state, I can tell you that this is not an area where we can tamper with nature in this area. The ridges and valleys around Everest is not populated (except small base camps), but it will still impact the wider region.

Salt lake lithium brine mining is very damaging. This lithium oxide is different. Basically just transporting rocks out of the ground.

 

[Dual Wielder]

You realize that the ecology in the Himalayas is very sensitive right? Industry and economic growth is good, but ecology is equally important. Lithium mining is considered very damaging to the environment, much like the larger rare-earth mining sector.

As someone belonging to a mountain state, I can tell you that this is not an area where we can tamper with nature in this area. The ridges and valleys around Everest is not populated (except small base camps), but it will still impact the wider region.

It was a joke..

 

[Tshering22]

Salt lake lithium brine mining is very damaging. This lithium oxide is different. Basically just transporting rocks out of the ground.

But isn't China now pushing more for Na-Ion battery research? The storage capacity is still work-in-progress but there were some journals talking about this being the more abundantly available and cheaper (in the long-term) option in the future.

 

[Clutch]

Wonder if those lithium reserves are also present on the Pakistani side of the Himalayas

 

[Luosifen]

Wonder if those lithium reserves are also present on the Pakistani side of the Himalayas

Probably, considering Afghanistan on the other side of Pakistan definitely has lithium, but you'd have to do your own geological surveys to be sure how much you have.

 

[8888888888888]

Excellent

 

[MultaniGuy]

Interesting development. Lets see what comes out of this.

 

[8888888888888]

Only Nepal and China can take advantage of it

 

[Daniel808]

Chinese Research Team Finds Vast Lithium Deposit in Qiongjiagang Region of Mount Qomolangma
By Global Times Published: Feb 15, 2022 10:35 PM

Photo: ScienceNet.cn

A Chinese scientific investigation and research team has discovered a vast lithium deposit in the Qiongjiagang region of Mount Qomolangma, according to a report by China Science Daily.

The lithium deposit might hopefully become the third largest after the Bailong Mountain site, in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and the Jiajika lithium deposit, in Southwest China's Sichuan Province. It could also become the first pegmatite lithium deposit with industrial value in the Mount Qomolangma area, the report said.

The research team, affiliated with the Institute of Geology and Geophysics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, found four mineral belts in the Qiongjiagang region in the summer of 2021 with a total length of more than 1,000 meters , Qin Kezhang, head of the research team, told the China Science Daily.

According to Qin, there are about 1.01 million tons of lithium oxide in the mine, based on what he described as "quite conservative" calculations. He also said that the average content rate of lithium oxide was about 1.3 percent.

Generally speaking, when the content of lithium oxide exceeds 0.8 percent, the lithium ore has industrial value, according to Qin. Of the 59 samples they collected from the site, 44 met the standards for industrial exploitation.

There are good mining conditions at the lithium deposit in Qiongjiagang area, Qin said. Particles of spodumene, a pyroxene mineral that is a source of lithium, are relatively large, about 10 cm to 20 cm, which are easy to extract. Transportation in the area is convenient and its geography is also favorable for industrial exploitation, according to Qin. He also noted that the area is far from the core of the nature reserve of Mount Qomolangma.

However, Qin said the project is still at the initial stage of "pre-study" of the lithium ore as currently they only know the distribution range and the types and contents of useful elements. From discovery to exploitation, a pre-study is needed to determine the location and general situation of the mine.

Qin remarked that scientists will conduct further investigation to determine whether the Qiongjiagang lithium deposit and its surrounding areas form a larger continuous lithium ore belt.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202202/1252338.shtml

 

[Beast]

Probably too expensive to process, comparing with brine deposits.

Yes, speaks from a banana.