In the News May 20
Mining in Northwest Territories
Elements Comprising Lithium-ion Batteries
Lithium is the third lightest element, after hydrogen and helium, and the lightest of solid elements. Its principal commercial use is as an initiator of polymerization, for example, in the production of synthetic rubber. It is also extensively used in the production of other organic chemicals, especially pharmaceuticals. Because of its light weight and large negative electrochemical potential, lithium metal, either pure or in the presence of other elements, serves as an electrode in many non-rechargeable primary batteries and in high-power rechargeable lithium storage batteries used in Electric Vehicles (EVs), phones, cameras, and other electronic devices. Lightweight lithium-magnesium alloys and tough lithium-aluminum alloys, harder than aluminum alone, have structural applications in the aerospace and other industries.
Cobalt is a high strength magnetic metal with a diverse range of important uses in products from rechargeable batteries to aircraft engines. Cobalt is critical for manufacturing high performance rechargeable batteries such as lithium-ion batteries that are used in portable electronics, EVs and stationary power storage applications. Amongst its many applications, it is found in superalloys for the aerospace industry to make power and jet engine turbines as well as in electromechanical devices such as magnets, electric motors, generators, transformers and magnetic storage tape and hard disks.
In energy production applications, graphite is used in pebbles for modular nuclear reactors and in high-strength composites for wind, tide, and wave turbines. In energy storage applications, graphite is used in bipolar plates as well as in batteries in EVs where it acts as an anode in lithium-ion batteries. Currently, the majority of demand for natural graphite is based on several traditional markets, such as refractory (28 per cent), foundry and crucibles (18 per cent), lubricants (10 per cent) and other traditional and emerging applications (28 per cent). Currently, lithium-ion batteries represent 16 per cent of the market and this share is growing steadily.
Manganese is essential to iron and steel production by virtue of its sulfur-fixing, deoxidizing, and alloying properties. Steelmaking, including its ironmaking component, accounts for most domestic manganese demand, presently in the range of 85 to 90 per cent of the total. Manganese also is a key component of certain widely used aluminum alloys and, in oxide form, dry cell batteries.
Nickel is widely used because of its corrosion resistance. The aerospace industry is a leading consumer of nickel-based superalloys. Turbine blades, discs and other critical parts of jet engines are fabricated from superalloys. Nickel-based superalloys are also used in land-based combustion turbines, such as those found at electric power generation stations. The remaining 23 per cent of consumption is divided between alloy steels, rechargeable batteries, catalysts and other chemicals, coinage, foundry products, and plating.
(With files from Government of Canada, Vital Metals, Fortune Minerals Limited, CBC.)
TML Daily, posted May 20, 2022.
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