Rio Tinto, a mining and metals firm, has begun producing spodumene focus, a mineral used within the manufacturing of lithium for batteries, at an indication plant in Canada.
The plant, a part of the Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium Quebec Operations in Sorel-Tracy, was commissioned in June of 2022, and produced its first ton of spodumene focus in July.
“The plant will display at industrial scale a brand new spodumene focus course of that gives lithium oxide (Li20) grades and recoveries properly above the business common,” says the corporate. “The method was developed by researchers at Rio Tinto’s Crucial Minerals and Expertise Centre and examined on spodumene ore samples from varied nations. It provides the environmental good thing about not utilizing chemical merchandise and producing solely dry, inert residues.”
The plant can even check ore from native suppliers, together with the lithium producer Sayona.
Supply: Rio Tinto
