The production of electrical power close to the end user.

Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology uses physical or chemical selective processes to remove lithium from brines while leaving other components in the brine. This is one of the most environmentally-responsible methods of extracting lithium from solution and avoids the need for evaporation ponds. 

This a process whereby the shape and/or dimensions of rolled steel sheet or long product, such as bar, wire or tube, are altered. In the case of steel sheet, drawing takes place in a press to change the sheet from a flat to a shaped profile. Drawing is generally, but not exclusively, a cold working technique as it is usually conducted at room temperature. 

A procedure for producing specialty tubing using a drawbench to pull tubing through a die and over a mandrel, giving excellent control over the inside diameter and wall thickness. Advantages of this technique are its inside and outside surface quality and gauge tolerance. 

Direct Reduced Iron.  A group of processes for making iron from ore by removing the oxygen from the iron ore. No blast furnace is needed.

The tool used to crush or cut rock. The bit is on the bottom of the drillstring and must be changed when it becomes excessively dull or stops making progress. Most bits work by scraping or crushing the rock, or both, usually as part of a rotational motion.

Driling is a cutting process that uses a drill bit to cut a hole of circular cross-section in solid materials. The drill bit is usually a rotary cutting tool, often multi-point. The bit is pressed against the work-piece and rotated at rates from hundreds to thousands of revolutions per minute. This forces the cutting edge against the work-piece, cutting off chips (swarf) from the hole as it is drilled. 

An example of drilling is at Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni salt flat which holds an estimated 17% of lithium globally.  Workers drill though the crust with large rigs and are aiming for the brine underneath swathes of magnesium and potassium in the hope of finding lithium-rich spots. Since the 2000s, most of the world’s lithium has been extracted this way, rather than using mineral ore sources such as spodumene, petalite and lepidolite

A drilling unit that is not permanently fixed to the seabed.

The drillpipe connects the rig surface equipment with the bottomhole assembly and the bit, both to pump drilling fluid to the bit and to be able to raise, lower and rotate the bottomhole assembly and bit.

A drip is a small vessel in a pipeline which receives water and heavy hydrocarbons that drop out of a gas stream. Drips are normally installed in the lower points of flow lines and must be blown periodically to remove liquids.

Dry gas is natural gas that is composed mainly of methane with only minor amounts of ethane, propane and butane and little or no heavier hydrocarbons in the gasoline range. 

This is the internationally accepted unit of measure for iron ore pricing. A dry metric tonne unit is 1% of iron (Fe) contained in a tonne of ore, excluding moisture. The price per tonne of a consignment of iron ore is calculated by multiplying the cents/dmtu price by the percent Fe content of the ore in that shipment. Iron ore contract prices are quoted in US$ cents.

Duplex is a category of stainless steel with high amounts of chromium and moderate nickel content. Duplex stainless steels provide high resistance to stress corrosion cracking (formation of cracks caused by a combination of corrosion and stress) and are suitable for heat exchangers, desalination plants, and marine applications.