1548
Exploring Lithium Recovery Through Characterization of
Pegmatite Type Ore
G Acquah, R Asamoah, G B Abaka-Wood
University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, Australia
K B Owusu
Mineral Resources, CSIRO, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
R K Amankwah
University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Western Region, Ghana
J Addai-Mensah
University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, Australia
Namibia University of Science and Technology, Windhoek, Namibia
ABSTRACT: Lithium, despite being known for centuries, has garnered recent media attention for its critical
role in clean energy storage and utilization. This study aimed to characterise new pegmatite ore using XRD,
QEMSCAN, and ICP-MS. The results showed that lithium was mineralized as spodumene and abundant in
coarse size fractions. The coarse grain size and liberation characteristics of the spodumene in the ore suggests
that there is little or no need for grinding prior to employing beneficiation techniques to recover spodumene.
Consequently, ore preconcentration options like dense media separation and froth flotation are discussed.
The results reveal that combining chemical and mineralogical analyses provides comprehensive and accurate
information on identifying potential lithium recovery methods from the pegmatite.
Keywords: Lithium, spodumene, XRD, QEMSCAN, ICP-MS, froth flotation, dense media separation
INTRODUCTION
Lithium is mainly mined from two economic sources: brines
(60%) and hard rock ores (40%). It is a versatile metal with
numerous applications ranging from medicinal use to treat
mental illness to its use in the production of lightweight
alloys, functioning as a desiccant, and contributing to the
manufacture of nuclear weapons (Kavanagh et al., 2018).
Various lithium compounds, including lithium carbon-
ate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium bromide are used in
the production of glass, ceramics, lubricants, and greases
to improve extreme temperature resistance (Talens Peiró et
al., 2013). The recent surge in the adoption of lithium-ion
technology for electric vehicles, portable electronic devices,
and power storage systems has significantly increased the
demand for lithium minerals (G. Abaka-Wood et al., 2022
Tabelin et al., 2021 Tran &Luong, 2015). This rising
demand is fuelled by the global push for cleaner energy
sources, for instance the advent of electric vehicle, is aimed
Exploring Lithium Recovery Through Characterization of
Pegmatite Type Ore
G Acquah, R Asamoah, G B Abaka-Wood
University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, Australia
K B Owusu
Mineral Resources, CSIRO, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
R K Amankwah
University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Western Region, Ghana
J Addai-Mensah
University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, Australia
Namibia University of Science and Technology, Windhoek, Namibia
ABSTRACT: Lithium, despite being known for centuries, has garnered recent media attention for its critical
role in clean energy storage and utilization. This study aimed to characterise new pegmatite ore using XRD,
QEMSCAN, and ICP-MS. The results showed that lithium was mineralized as spodumene and abundant in
coarse size fractions. The coarse grain size and liberation characteristics of the spodumene in the ore suggests
that there is little or no need for grinding prior to employing beneficiation techniques to recover spodumene.
Consequently, ore preconcentration options like dense media separation and froth flotation are discussed.
The results reveal that combining chemical and mineralogical analyses provides comprehensive and accurate
information on identifying potential lithium recovery methods from the pegmatite.
Keywords: Lithium, spodumene, XRD, QEMSCAN, ICP-MS, froth flotation, dense media separation
INTRODUCTION
Lithium is mainly mined from two economic sources: brines
(60%) and hard rock ores (40%). It is a versatile metal with
numerous applications ranging from medicinal use to treat
mental illness to its use in the production of lightweight
alloys, functioning as a desiccant, and contributing to the
manufacture of nuclear weapons (Kavanagh et al., 2018).
Various lithium compounds, including lithium carbon-
ate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium bromide are used in
the production of glass, ceramics, lubricants, and greases
to improve extreme temperature resistance (Talens Peiró et
al., 2013). The recent surge in the adoption of lithium-ion
technology for electric vehicles, portable electronic devices,
and power storage systems has significantly increased the
demand for lithium minerals (G. Abaka-Wood et al., 2022
Tabelin et al., 2021 Tran &Luong, 2015). This rising
demand is fuelled by the global push for cleaner energy
sources, for instance the advent of electric vehicle, is aimed