Hydrometallurgy involves the use of aqueous solutions for the recovery of metals from ores, concentrates, and recycled or residual materials. Processing techniques that complement hydrometallurgy are pyrometallurgy, vapour metallurgy, and molten salt electrometallurgy. Hydrometallurgy is typically divided into three general areas:

• Leaching
• Solution concentration and purification
• Metal or metal compound recovery

An ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) is an engine which generates motive power by the burning of petrol, oil, or other fuel with air inside the engine, the hot gases produced being used to drive a piston or do other work as they expand.

The JORC code is an Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves, this is a professional code of practice that sets minimum standards for Public Reporting of Mineral Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves.

Public Reports prepared in accordance with the JORC Code are reports prepared for the purpose of informing investors or potential investors and their advisors. They include, but are not limited to, annual and quarterly company reports, press releases, information memoranda, technical papers, website postings and public presentations of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves estimates. 

kW stands for kilowatt. A kilowatt is simply 1,000 watts, which is a measure of power. This unit is typically used to express the output power of engines and the power of electric motors, tools, machines, and heaters.

LCO (Lithium cobalt oxide), sometimes called lithium cobaltate or lithium cobaltite, is a chemical compound with formula LiCoO.  Lithium cobalt oxide is a dark blue or bluish-gray crystalline solid, and is commonly used in the positive electrodes of lithium-ion batteries.

Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin plumbum) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. Flooded Lead Acid batteries are the most commonly found lead acid battery type and are widely used in the automotive industry. They provide a cost effective solution, as the least cost per amp hour, of any lead acid battery type.

The lithium iron phosphate battery or LFP battery, is a type of lithium-ion battery using lithium iron phosphate as the cathode material, and a graphitic carbon electrode with a metallic backing as the anode. LiFePO4 batteries are comparable to sealed lead acid batteries and are often being touted as a drop-in replacement for lead acid applications. This battery chemistry is targeted for use in power tools, electric vehicles, solar energy installations and more recently large grid-scale energy storage.

The chemical element of atomic number 3, a soft silver-white metal. It is the lightest of the alkali metals. Lithium and its compounds have several industrial applications, including heat-resistant glass and ceramics, lithium grease lubricants, flux additives for iron, steel and aluminium production, lithium batteries, and lithium-ion batteries. These uses consume more than three-quarters of lithium production.

Lithium brine deposits are the most common, accounting for more than half of the world’s lithium resources, but may require longer processing periods. The majority of global lithium production comes from continental lithium brine deposits. The best example of a continental lithium brine deposit is the 3,000 square kilometer Salar de Atacama in Chile, home to one of the world’s richest deposits of high-grade lithium.

Lithium from brine deposits has gained more and more interest in recent years, this has mainly been driven by Tesla’s lithium-ion battery gigafactory. Lithium extraction from brine sources has proven more economical than production from hard rock ore. There are three types of lithium brine deposits: continental, geothermal and oil field. The most common are continental saline desert basins (also known as salt lakes, salt flats or salars). Lithium brine deposits represent about 66% of global lithium resources and are found mainly in the salt flats of Chile, Argentina, China and Tibet.

Lithium carbonate is an inorganic compound, the lithium salt of carbonate with the formula Li 2CO 3. Its main use is as a precursor for compounds used in lithium-ion batteries.

Lithium chloride is a chemical compound with the formula LiCl. Lithium chloride is mainly used for the production of lithium metal by electrolysis of a LiCl/KCl melt at 450 °C. LiCl is also used as a brazing flux for aluminium in automobile parts.

Hard rock lithium deposits, also known as pegmatite lithium deposits, can contain extractable amounts of a number of elements, including lithium, tin, tantalum and niobium. Lithium in pegmatites is most commonly found in the mineral spodumene. Australia, the US, Canada, Ireland, Finland and the Democratic Republic of Congo are known to host pegmatite lithium deposits. 

Extracting pegmatite lithium from hard rock ore is expensive, meaning that such deposits are arguably at a disadvantage compared to brine deposits. However, pegmatite lithium deposits have considerably higher lithium concentrations than brines, so deposits with extremely high lithium values may still be economically viable.

Lithium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula LiOH.(H2O)n. Lithium hydroxide is mainly used in the production of cathode materials for lithium ion batteries such as lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO₂) and lithium iron phosphate. It is preferred over lithium carbonate as a precursor for lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxides.

A lithium-ion battery or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery. Lithium-ion batteries are commonly used for portable electronics and electric vehicles and are growing in popularity for military and aerospace applications. During a discharge cycle, lithium atoms in the anode are ionized and separated from their electrons. The lithium ions move from the anode and pass through the electrolyte until they reach the cathode, where they recombine with their electrons and electrically neutralize. The lithium ions are small enough to be able to move through a micro-permeable separator between the anode and cathode.

Lithium Nickel-Cobalt-Aluminum Oxide (NCA) is used as the cathode material for lithium ion batteries, and is mainly used in electric automobiles.