Portugal : brace yourself , the diggers are coming

[Zak33]

An Australian mining company has applied for nearly 100 licenses to try to mine extra Lithium in Portugal

Portugal are apparently mining 1,200 tons per year (not for batteries) but there's a good 60,000 tons known to exist.

And the big boys want it..... not that it would last long if they get a large progam runnnig....

there are teams drilling holes across Portugal trying to find more ... and then... then they'll start digging if they get licenses.

(Sadly I know the digging machines are not solar or wind powered..... but I won't proceed along that avenue)

It would be a great shame to rip apart a beautiful rural countryside to save the environment
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-po...-idUKKBN2080GT

[kalniel]

Depends on the type of mine I guess - doesn't necessarily mean ripping apart rural countryside.

But the sooner we can move to sodium batteries the better.

[Domestic_Ginger]

French researcher William Tahil found in a 2008 study that there were 3.9 million metric tons of recoverable lithium deposits on the planet. A year later, consultants Gerry Clarke and Peter Harben ascertained through another study that the planet actually holds over 10-times that amount. Since then, several studies have come out, all with varying results.

We do not know for certain how much lithium exists within the Earth. As recently as 2015, it was estimated that the planet holds enough lithium reserves to maintain global production for 365 years. This, however, was at a time in which said production output equaled 37,000 tons of lithium per year.

Greentech Media estimated that by 2040, the world could see upwards of 100 Tesla sized factories to meet the growing need for electric vehicles. In that environment, based on those 2015 figures, that 365 year supply would be used up within 17 years.

Sounds like a better investment than gold!

However if Na batteries come online it may not be.......

[watercooled]

It would be a great shame to rip apart a beautiful rural countryside to save the environment
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-po...-idUKKBN2080GT

It wouldn't be the first case of greenwashing we've seen would it? It's quite sad how short-sighted politics can be at times.

Lithium battery recycling needs to improve too - last I heard it wasn't particularly good.

[TeePee]

Depends on the type of mine I guess - doesn't necessarily mean ripping apart rural countryside.

But the sooner we can move to sodium batteries the better.

Lithium extraction from rock uses large open pit mines. There really isn't another way.