Rosatom develops technology to extract lithium from Nurlikon ore

According to the developers, the new technology makes it possible to recover 94.44% of lithium into the finished product. The Nurlikon ore contains about 0.5% lithium oxide. Traditional beneficiation is not suitable for it: the valuable mineral and the host rock are too similar in properties, and a large amount of carbonates further complicates processing.

At one of the intermediate stages of the chain, phosphogypsum, which is a waste product of the Almalyk chemical plant, serves as raw material. Thanks to this, about 225,000 tonnes of phosphogypsum can be recycled annually. No liquid or solid waste is generated during processing, and the tailings are intended to be used as raw material for the cement industry.

As Valery Golovko, head of the technical department of JSC Giredmet, stated, the design capacity is 750,000 tonnes of ore per year, which will enable the annual production of more than 8,500 tonnes of high-purity chemically pure grade lithium carbonate. He explained the zero-waste approach: "For low-grade micaceous ores, this is not just an environmental requirement, but an economic necessity." Pilot-scale industrial tests are scheduled for next year, following which the technology is planned to be readied for commercial-scale application.