The Lithium Boom Story
You're NOT Being Told
http://www.angelnexus.com/o/web/108015
The one and ONLY move to turn $10,000 into $1 million
on the lithium energy boom.
While most investors “in the know” will miss out on
this virtually unknown 100-bagger play...
I’ve already shown a small group of my readers 1,667% gains on
lithium in four months — and we’re just getting started...
Dear Reader,Goldman Sachs calls it “the new gasoline.”
The Economist says it's “the world’s hottest commodity.”
And Bloomberg goes so far as to say “get ready for life without oil.”
An unusual form of fuel is promising to completely upend the world’s energy mix.
Already, it’s powering so much in our daily lives.
Everything from smartphones, laptops, and tablets...
To cars, power tools, and even grid energy.
And just like oil, it’s an essential ingredient in products like pharmaceuticals.
But now, thanks to a series of moves by billionaires Elon Musk and Warren Buffett...
This new fuel is promising to power the car of the future, meeting no less than 70% of our future energy needs.
And just as Henry Ford’s Model T made oil the dominant form of energy on the planet...
So too will new electric cars, buses, trucks, and planes catapult this to the top of the global power mix.
What is this fuel?
Industry insiders know it as “white oil.”
You might know it better as lithium.
And it’s no secret the lithium market is booming right now.
But what you probably haven’t heard is that most lithium investments are simply duds. Sure, they may make you a few percentage points.
But they won’t make you the REAL 100-bagger returns.
I’ll explain why in a moment.
Why there’s one — and ONLY one — play to get rich on the lithium boom in 2016.
And why this $2 firm could deliver 100-fold gains THIS year, even as its competitors flop.
In fact, my readers and I have already taken home 1,667% gains on this lithium play in the last few months.
Good enough to turn every $10,000 we invested into $166,700 in the first quarter of 2016.
Now, as you’re about to see, I think we could see the same exact results again — or even better. All before the year closes out!
We have a lot of pretty big energy market legends to get us there.
For instance, its founder has made himself and investors rich on a lithium buyout before.
Not to mention at least three other massive 10,000% wins he’s delivered for his shareholders in the energy markets.
Another one of its founders is a billionaire with close ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton.
A political insider who gives this company a direct line to the White House.
He’s also an energy market “superstar” responsible for generating mind-blowing returns like 200,000%.
That’s good enough to turn just $1,000 into a $2 million retirement windfall... on a single opportunity!
Gains like these are how he made his billions — and made other investors rich with him.
Will he do it again? And for you?
You’ll see why it’s likely in just a moment.
I’ll also share with you my exclusive “boots on the ground” footage of the company’s operations...
Including its sites and my interviews with the execs.
But first, in case you haven’t heard about the lithium boom, let me give you the quick scoop:
Elon Musk’s Shocking Lithium Announcement
Lithium was overlooked and even unknown up until last year.But that’s all changed.
Elon Musk’s Gigafactory and the new Tesla 3 rollout have put this sector on every big-money investor’s radar.
Keep in mind, lithium already powers everything from smartphones to laptops. And supplies are already tight.
Now take a look at this chart from the Department of Energy...
So even with existing demand, prices MUST go up. There’s no way they can’t.
Now get this:
Elon Musk plans to build 500,000 Tesla 3s every year. That amount is already on pre-order.
And to meet that goal, he says he will need the world’s entire lithium supply. And he’ll need it year after year.
That’s astounding.
Keep in mind:
There were 1.4 billion smartphones sold last year.
194 million laptops.
And 320 million tablets.
And lithium powers them all.
But just one year of the new Tesla 3’s production will require ALL of that lithium — and more.
That’s why Musk is now scrambling to dominate the lithium market.
Without it, his $5 billion Gigafactory will go sideways. The new Tesla 3 will flop. And his investments go up in smoke.
In short, he’ll pay virtually anything to get his hands on this fuel.
So will Warren Buffett.
Musk vs. Buffett:
Billionaires Go to War for World Energy Future
The Oracle from Omaha has a multibillion-dollar investment in Tesla’s biggest rival...BYD — a major electric car company that could potentially leapfrog Tesla.
Now, I recommended BYD several years ago — when Buffett first bought into the company — and my readers saw pretty astounding gains of 391%.
But here’s the thing...
The real money from electric cars will NOT come from Tesla, BYD, or any other manufacturer.
It will come from lithium instead — and one tiny stock in particular.
You see, just like Tesla... BYD will also need the world’s entire lithium supply, every single year...
That’s just to meet initial demand for its new battery-powered cars.
So just like Musk, the “world’s greatest investor” needs to dominate the supply of this fuel. Or risk losing a chunk of his net worth.
But he won’t let that happen. And he’ll gladly pay whatever price to make sure of that.
Now the two billionaires are at war for the world’s tiny lithium supply.
They’re signing deals and buying mines. And in the process they’ve sparked a frenzy for this fuel.
“A Frenzy That Includes Everyone from Tech Titans
to Billionaire Investors”
Including...
GoogleAppleSamsungPanasonicVirgin Airlines mogul Richard BransonAnd Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting.Big Oil giant Total entered the market with a $1.1 billion buyout of a lithium company.
The Department of Defense also depends on this fuel. And it has the “first dibs” on supply.
All of which has sent lithium prices through the roof.
Just at the end of last year lithium was trading between $5,000 to $6,000 per tonne...
Now, some lithium contracts are selling in China for as high as $24,000 per tonne.
A 400% surge in recent months.
And it’s just getting started...
In fact...
“Goldman Sachs expects lithium demand to surge
1,000% in the next few years”
Now everybody is scrambling to get in on the ground floor.Just miles away from Tesla’s Gigafactory...
New miners are staking land in Nevada’s booming lithium play, hoping to strike it rich on the “white gold” rush...
And investors are flocking to lithium for “home run” gains.
The lithium gold rush has reached such a fever pitch that Deutsche Bank just declared...
“Welcome to the Lithium-Ion Age”
— Deutsche Bank
Yet few know the real ways to make a killing in this energy market.I’m talking about the kind of 100-bagger gains you only see from big energy supercycles like this.
And for a good reason...
There aren’t many.
Right now, a few big players monopolize the lithium supply. They’re not pure plays with a lot of upside. And the others are just small timers with no real proven reserves.
Sure, they may hand you a few points as the lithium tide lifts all ships. But I don’t expect much else out of them, certainly no actual lithium production. And neither should you.
That’s why I stayed on the sidelines of this industry throughout most of 2015. But with the new developments from Musk and Buffett, I knew there were riches to be made. I just needed to find the most profitable way everyday investors could get a share.
So I spent months combing the industry top to bottom.
I put my boots on the ground, met with my energy industry contacts and government insiders.
And out of the batch of stocks and rocks, I’ve identified one — and ONLY one — real gem in this market.
And out of the batch of stocks and rocks, I’ve identified one — and ONLY one — real gem in this market.
“A tiny $2 company that could allow you to ride the lithium
surge for NO LESS than 1,700% gains in 2016.”
Believe me, this play could mean the difference between walking away with some pocket change...
Or building real wealth this year — the kind you can retire on instantly.
Why am I so certain?
Well, back when I identified this tiny play, went out to its mines, and met its company execs...
Or building real wealth this year — the kind you can retire on instantly.
Why am I so certain?
Well, back when I identified this tiny play, went out to its mines, and met its company execs...
It was only trading at 15 cents.
What’s more, you couldn’t buy it on a single stock exchange.
But after I saw its plan and savvy management, I sent a buy alert to my readers.
I even gave them the “in” to buy it. The kind you can only get from having a contact — like me — with the company.
Since then we’ve watched it surge for storybook gains.
From 15 cents... to half-a-buck... to $1.50 and now — as of writing this — it’s reached $2.53.
That’s no less than 1,667% gains in just four months.
Good enough to turn a $10,000 stake into $176,700.
That’s incredible.
It’s more than the average American earns in four years...
And if you were a reader of mine, and bought when I recommended it...
You could have made it in just four months — without an ounce of work.
The mainstream financial media will tell you these gains are impossible.
But when you spot resource booms like lithium... play them the right way... and get in with the right companies...
They’re all but guaranteed.
The incredible thing is...
I don’t think we’re even close to finished.
In fact, it may sound unbelievable, but I expect this tiny $2 company to reach no less than $34 in 2016.
That’s another 1,700% return — and within roughly the same time span.
In short, I think we’re about to repeat what we’ve already seen so far.
Which is why many of my readers are still loading up on as many shares as possible.
So am I.
Now, that bears repeating...
We’ve Seen 1,667% Gains in Four Months...
And We’re Expecting to Do It Again
We’ve seen 1,667% gains so far.That’s over 17 times our money in just months.
More than 99.99% of investors will never see those kinds of gains.
And my readers and I are NOT selling.
In fact, we’re buying as many shares as we can.
We want to build a legacy of wealth we can leave to our grandchildren.
I truly believe this opportunity can deliver that.
You’ll get full details on this lithium opportunity in just a moment... including its name, company profile, and ticker symbol.
But before I do, you should know this...
We’ll be the ONLY ones making a real fortune in lithium...
Some will buy the big players and make some nice pocket change.
While most others will lose their shirts... and that’s already starting to happen.
Let me explain...
The Shocking Lithium Story I Heard in Nevada
When I was out in Clayton Valley, Nevada — America’s lithium play — I talked to an old man...
A guy who's handled these lithium properties and has done so since the 1970s.
He basically stakes a claim on them and deals with the Bureau of Land Management.
Then he leases his land packages to mining companies.
Now, he knows this company’s land package is rock solid and assured me its reputation...
In fact, he said it’s been historically known as “lithium land” in the area going back for decades.
That didn’t surprise me.
After all, this Clay County land is only footsteps away from America’s only operating lithium mine.
In fact, it couldn’t have a better position if we bought the mine itself!
In just a moment, you’ll see how this tiny $2 firm is sitting on prime lithium land like no other...
Not just in Nevada but in the world’s “Saudi Arabia” of lithium.
Areas all proven, primed, and ready to go for production.
But first, you need to know ONE critical thing...
In just a moment, you’ll see how this tiny $2 firm is sitting on prime lithium land like no other...
Not just in Nevada but in the world’s “Saudi Arabia” of lithium.
Areas all proven, primed, and ready to go for production.
But first, you need to know ONE critical thing...
WARNING:
Don’t buy a single lithium stock until you read this!
The company I’ve discussed is a lone wolf in a crowded market full of fakers.
Turns out a whole lot of companies are going out to Nevada, staking land or ordering land packages...
Land they know damn well doesn’t have any lithium!
For instance, I just read a press release from one new company that just optioned Fish Lake.
But the lithium land man I talked to in Nevada — the one who's been doing this for decades — says that there is no lithium there.
Another of the “me-too” companies in Nevada isn’t even in Clayton Valley.
Its land is pasture — no lithium there.
Another firm that recently got its name in the press and attracted investors may be flat-out lying about its resource. I've heard it from several different sources now that it's including lithium deposits found in clay in its resource estimates.
But here’s the thing...
ALL lithium has only been produced from salt brine or hard rock.
No lithium has been produced from clay... EVER.
Yet companies like this are soaring on all the deserved interest over lithium.
That’s the potential problem with resource mania.
That's the lithium boom story you're not being told.
You can’t just pick blindly and buy any little stock that has "lithium" in its name.
That’s what most investors do.
Then... guess what...?
When it’s revealed these companies are sitting on nothing but dirt — that they are nothing but con games...
Everyday investors lose their shirts.
And the founders cash out before anyone figures it out — with no one getting rich but themselves.
Unfortunately I’ve seen it happen over and over again in my decade in the resource market.
The rare earth metals and graphite booms were similar stories.
Take Molycorp for example.
Investors got caught up in the hype and the rare earth boom story... sending its share price surging.
Turns out a whole lot of companies are going out to Nevada, staking land or ordering land packages...
Land they know damn well doesn’t have any lithium!
For instance, I just read a press release from one new company that just optioned Fish Lake.
But the lithium land man I talked to in Nevada — the one who's been doing this for decades — says that there is no lithium there.
Another of the “me-too” companies in Nevada isn’t even in Clayton Valley.
Its land is pasture — no lithium there.
Another firm that recently got its name in the press and attracted investors may be flat-out lying about its resource. I've heard it from several different sources now that it's including lithium deposits found in clay in its resource estimates.
But here’s the thing...
ALL lithium has only been produced from salt brine or hard rock.
No lithium has been produced from clay... EVER.
Yet companies like this are soaring on all the deserved interest over lithium.
That’s the potential problem with resource mania.
That's the lithium boom story you're not being told.
You can’t just pick blindly and buy any little stock that has "lithium" in its name.
That’s what most investors do.
Then... guess what...?
When it’s revealed these companies are sitting on nothing but dirt — that they are nothing but con games...
Everyday investors lose their shirts.
And the founders cash out before anyone figures it out — with no one getting rich but themselves.
Unfortunately I’ve seen it happen over and over again in my decade in the resource market.
The rare earth metals and graphite booms were similar stories.
Take Molycorp for example.
Investors got caught up in the hype and the rare earth boom story... sending its share price surging.
Then, when the rare earth bubble burst and the company could no
longer compete, they saw nearly all their money instantly vanish as
shares fell from over $70.00 to a few pennies.
I don’t want that to be you.
That’s why you MUST be selective in these kinds of booms — and carefully pick what you buy.
You can’t just rely on some analyst sitting behind a desk.
They have no idea that a company like Molycorp isn't going to be able to make it.
Or that in this current lithium boom that many of the players are sitting on land that’s KNOWN to have zero lithium, or on quantities that aren't economic enough to be produced.
You need boots on the ground to get that kind of information. Which is exactly what I deliver. And why I do it.
That’s the difference between getting rich on massive resource booms... or watching your money disappear.
Of course, our play’s PROVEN lithium land is not the only advantage it has in the market.
And it’s NOT the only reason why I’m so certain its shares will surge 100-fold.
It has a whole lot more behind it, in fact.
You see, the founder of this company is a legend in the energy markets.
I call him “The King of 10- and 100-Baggers.”
That’s because in past booms like uranium, potash, (and yes, lithium), he’s started tiny companies with a few million dollars...
And then sold them to big names for billion-dollar price tags, making early investors filthy rich.
Which brings me to my #1 catalyst for 2016:
I don’t want that to be you.
That’s why you MUST be selective in these kinds of booms — and carefully pick what you buy.
You can’t just rely on some analyst sitting behind a desk.
They have no idea that a company like Molycorp isn't going to be able to make it.
Or that in this current lithium boom that many of the players are sitting on land that’s KNOWN to have zero lithium, or on quantities that aren't economic enough to be produced.
You need boots on the ground to get that kind of information. Which is exactly what I deliver. And why I do it.
That’s the difference between getting rich on massive resource booms... or watching your money disappear.
Of course, our play’s PROVEN lithium land is not the only advantage it has in the market.
And it’s NOT the only reason why I’m so certain its shares will surge 100-fold.
It has a whole lot more behind it, in fact.
You see, the founder of this company is a legend in the energy markets.
I call him “The King of 10- and 100-Baggers.”
That’s because in past booms like uranium, potash, (and yes, lithium), he’s started tiny companies with a few million dollars...
And then sold them to big names for billion-dollar price tags, making early investors filthy rich.
Which brings me to my #1 catalyst for 2016:
2016 Catalyst #1:
The BIG Lithium Buyout of 2016
This man has done it time and time again.
For instance...
He founded a uranium play called Energy Metals Corp. with $10 million. Two years later, he turned around and flipped it for $1.8 billion.
That’s an 18,000% return.
Good enough to turn $10,000 into a staggering $1.8 million retirement nest egg.
Shortly after, he once again made shareholders millions — doing the exact same thing with a company called Potash One.
Again, in just 2 ½ years he was able to build and sell the asset — this time for $4.50 a share, and all cash, in November 2010.
You get the picture.
This guy is a genius at taking small sums of money and generating mega-fortunes for himself and investors.
Why he is so good?
Because he buys the kinds of assets that larger competitors want, lays all the groundwork...
And pretty much sets up these tiny companies as “perfect buys” for premium acquisitions.
All while energy prices are shooting the roof.
This is how he generates 10- and 100-baggers, again and again.
He’s even done it once before in lithium, taking a junior called Lithium One from 10 cents and merging it with an Australian company called Galaxy Resources for $1.55 — a 15-bagger, or 1,500%, in 2 ½ years.
That’s right.
For instance...
He founded a uranium play called Energy Metals Corp. with $10 million. Two years later, he turned around and flipped it for $1.8 billion.
That’s an 18,000% return.
Good enough to turn $10,000 into a staggering $1.8 million retirement nest egg.
Shortly after, he once again made shareholders millions — doing the exact same thing with a company called Potash One.
Again, in just 2 ½ years he was able to build and sell the asset — this time for $4.50 a share, and all cash, in November 2010.
You get the picture.
This guy is a genius at taking small sums of money and generating mega-fortunes for himself and investors.
Why he is so good?
Because he buys the kinds of assets that larger competitors want, lays all the groundwork...
And pretty much sets up these tiny companies as “perfect buys” for premium acquisitions.
All while energy prices are shooting the roof.
This is how he generates 10- and 100-baggers, again and again.
He’s even done it once before in lithium, taking a junior called Lithium One from 10 cents and merging it with an Australian company called Galaxy Resources for $1.55 — a 15-bagger, or 1,500%, in 2 ½ years.
That’s right.
He’s Already Helped Investors
Turn $10,000 into $155,000... on Lithium!
And everything that’s happening now shows me ONE thing:
He’s about to do it again with the stock I'm telling you about today.
And because of the new developments with Elon Musk’s Tesla 3... Warren Buffett... and the explosive race for the world’s lithium supply — with demand skyrocketing by 1,000%...
This time around his “home run win” will be much bigger — and more lucrative.
But as incredible as all of that is...
It’s not the only reason I believe this company is such a “sure thing” multi-bagger.
This time it has an invaluable asset...
A billionaire mining legend with strong ties to the Clintons going back two decades.
Even though I doubt more than 1 in 1,000 Americans have ever heard of him...
He’s invested over $100 million in the Clinton Foundation and sits on its Board of Trustees.
Bill and Hillary have borrowed his private jet no less than 25 times.
And the powerful couple considers him a close “family friend.”
Which brings me to my second major catalyst that will ignite this tiny stock...
He’s about to do it again with the stock I'm telling you about today.
And because of the new developments with Elon Musk’s Tesla 3... Warren Buffett... and the explosive race for the world’s lithium supply — with demand skyrocketing by 1,000%...
This time around his “home run win” will be much bigger — and more lucrative.
But as incredible as all of that is...
It’s not the only reason I believe this company is such a “sure thing” multi-bagger.
This time it has an invaluable asset...
A billionaire mining legend with strong ties to the Clintons going back two decades.
Even though I doubt more than 1 in 1,000 Americans have ever heard of him...
He’s invested over $100 million in the Clinton Foundation and sits on its Board of Trustees.
Bill and Hillary have borrowed his private jet no less than 25 times.
And the powerful couple considers him a close “family friend.”
Which brings me to my second major catalyst that will ignite this tiny stock...
2016 Catalyst #2:
Clinton Insider Gives This Tiny Company
A Direct Line to the White House
Now, before I go any further, let me make something clear...
I’m NOT talking about anything unethical or illegal.
You may or may not like the Clintons...
And even though she’s still the heavy favorite, you don’t have to be certain that Hillary is going to win the election.
I’m NOT talking about anything unethical or illegal.
You may or may not like the Clintons...
And even though she’s still the heavy favorite, you don’t have to be certain that Hillary is going to win the election.
But here’s the thing...
This man is the company’s insider at the top of political establishment.
A priceless connection that could seriously aid their tiny firm.
He owns the largest block of shares.
And you can be certain of ONE thing...
He wants to see the maximum return on his investment — and he’ll make sure it happens.
This man is also a superstar in the resource market known for his “Midas Touch.”
That’s how he generated his billion-dollar fortune — and made other investors rich in the process.
For instance, he arranged the first funds for a tiny resource company, Diamond Fields International.
The company was trading at just 10 cents a share when he got involved.
Several years later, it traded at $200 — before being bought out by the resource giant Inco in the biggest mining transaction of all time.
A 2,000-fold return.
Yes, a 200,000% gain.
One of the largest returns EVER seen in the market.
You could have bought in for just $100 and seen a six-figure return.
A $500 stake would have handed you a million-dollar windfall.
And just $5,000 would have landed you a $10 million nest egg.
No wonder why he made every single one of the early investors fantastically rich.
He did it again with the uranium firm UrAsia, which he took from 10 cents to a $7.05 acquisition.
A 7,000% gain.
He also timed the gold market perfectly at the bottom in 2001 and started a tiny gold miner.
One that would eventually be bought for $2 billion by Goldcorp.
He’s been the architect of countless resource successes, including well-known resource giants like Silver Wheaton and Uranium One.
And he even once took a movie firm from teetering on bankruptcy to a $4 billion media giant.
My point is, everything this guy does...
Every opportunity he touches... gets involved in... or helps fund...
It NEVER fails to make investors rich.
And everything you’ve seen here today points to one unavoidable conclusion...
This under-the-radar lithium opportunity is NO different.
In just a moment, you’ll get full details on this explosive $2 firm... including its name, ticker symbol, and company profile.
You’ll see why it’s positioned with optimal lithium resource plays... and why a buyout is inevitable.
All the details you need to get rich on the lithium boom in 2016 — and beyond.
But before I do, you need to know something critical...
Why this tiny company could “make or break” Elon Musk’s Tesla 3 rollout.
Let me explain...
This man is the company’s insider at the top of political establishment.
A priceless connection that could seriously aid their tiny firm.
He owns the largest block of shares.
And you can be certain of ONE thing...
He wants to see the maximum return on his investment — and he’ll make sure it happens.
This man is also a superstar in the resource market known for his “Midas Touch.”
That’s how he generated his billion-dollar fortune — and made other investors rich in the process.
For instance, he arranged the first funds for a tiny resource company, Diamond Fields International.
The company was trading at just 10 cents a share when he got involved.
Several years later, it traded at $200 — before being bought out by the resource giant Inco in the biggest mining transaction of all time.
A 2,000-fold return.
Yes, a 200,000% gain.
One of the largest returns EVER seen in the market.
You could have bought in for just $100 and seen a six-figure return.
A $500 stake would have handed you a million-dollar windfall.
And just $5,000 would have landed you a $10 million nest egg.
No wonder why he made every single one of the early investors fantastically rich.
He did it again with the uranium firm UrAsia, which he took from 10 cents to a $7.05 acquisition.
A 7,000% gain.
He also timed the gold market perfectly at the bottom in 2001 and started a tiny gold miner.
One that would eventually be bought for $2 billion by Goldcorp.
He’s been the architect of countless resource successes, including well-known resource giants like Silver Wheaton and Uranium One.
And he even once took a movie firm from teetering on bankruptcy to a $4 billion media giant.
My point is, everything this guy does...
Every opportunity he touches... gets involved in... or helps fund...
It NEVER fails to make investors rich.
And everything you’ve seen here today points to one unavoidable conclusion...
This under-the-radar lithium opportunity is NO different.
In just a moment, you’ll get full details on this explosive $2 firm... including its name, ticker symbol, and company profile.
You’ll see why it’s positioned with optimal lithium resource plays... and why a buyout is inevitable.
All the details you need to get rich on the lithium boom in 2016 — and beyond.
But before I do, you need to know something critical...
Why this tiny company could “make or break” Elon Musk’s Tesla 3 rollout.
Let me explain...
2016 Catalyst #3:
Why Elon Musk Has
His
Eyes on This Tiny $2 Company
You see, just four giant companies right now control the world’s lithium supply.
Until now if Musk wanted to buy it, he needed to deal with them — and pay a ridiculously high price.
But that’s no longer the case...
Dozens of tiny mining plays are staking claims on potential and proven reserves of lithium.
And Musk is no idiot.
You don’t become a billionaire without knowing how to cut corners and make savvy deals.
Right now he’s scouring the world of lithium players for the best potential producers.
The kind that could get him a better priced deal outside the control of the “lithium cartel.”
And when you consider that our tiny lithium firm owns...
- Indisputably the largest lithium land package in North America, located just miles from Elon Musk’s Gigafactory in Nevada
- Two properties in Clayton Valley that border the only working lithium mine in North America
- A 2.8 million ton lithium asset in the heart of Argentina’s “lithium triangle” — the Saudi Arabia of lithium
- And that its South American asset is already prepared and ready for production... with the proven potential for 40,000 tons of lithium production annually
You can begin to see why Musk would be eyeing this tiny firm for his upcoming Tesla 3 rollout...
But here’s the thing...
Whenever a junior emerges to threaten the “Big 4” lithium cartel, it doesn’t stay around for long.
The short story?
It gets bought.
And if it secures a contract with Tesla — and the evidence indicates it will...
The lithium cartel will pay a pretty penny not just to secure this company’s assets...
But to ensure that Tesla has to come to it — and pay the full market price of lithium.
And considering the firm’s two founders have an unparalleled track record of starting and selling companies just like this...
Just as the price of energy markets are surging, and they can command huge buyout prices...
All making their early investors rich.
Well, this is one of the most surefire — and profitable — situations I’ve seen in all my years in the resource markets.
Remember, this tiny firm has already surged from 15 cents, when I got my readers in... to as high as $2.53.
A 1667% gain, in a matter of several months.
Now, a pullback has presented another perfect buy-in opportunity.
It’s just warming up...
When these lithium giants begin a bidding war for this little company...
Shares could surge from $2... to $10... $25... and beyond.
Using history as a guide, the company’s energy rainmakers could sell it for no less than $34.
Which means we’re looking at another 1,700% gain moving forward, and likely in 2016.
That’s by no means the highest gain we could see.
In fact, the firm’s billionaire Clinton insider has started a miner for 10 cents and sold it for $200, in just a few short years.
Could he sell this one for $200, too?
It’s possible.
Especially if the lithium market keeps raging like it’s doing — and all evidence certainly points to that.
Remember, Musk needs to absorb the ENTIRE world’s lithium supply to fulfill his plans.
Otherwise, he’ll lose billions of dollars on his investment.
The same for Warren Buffett.
Bottom line:
Even with a 400% gain in the past few months, the lithium price has just begun to surge.
And there’s no time to lose...
Musk has already begun production on the Tesla 3 and is desperate to get his hands on lithium...
He’s signing deals and contracts to secure the supply, and it’s likely he’ll do so with this company.
The Big 4 won’t just sit around when that happens.
They’ll scramble over each other to stop Musk from sidestepping their monopoly...
And there’s only one way they can do that...
Pay a handsome price on a buyout deal.
We already know our energy market rainmakers always get investors — and themselves — the most lucrative deal...
Often 100 times or more the current share price.
And everyone who bought in on the ground floor will become fantastically rich, almost overnight.
I want that to be YOU.
Which is why I’ve compiled all the details on this tiny company in my brand-new lithium market research report:
Shares could surge from $2... to $10... $25... and beyond.
Using history as a guide, the company’s energy rainmakers could sell it for no less than $34.
Which means we’re looking at another 1,700% gain moving forward, and likely in 2016.
That’s by no means the highest gain we could see.
In fact, the firm’s billionaire Clinton insider has started a miner for 10 cents and sold it for $200, in just a few short years.
Could he sell this one for $200, too?
It’s possible.
Especially if the lithium market keeps raging like it’s doing — and all evidence certainly points to that.
Remember, Musk needs to absorb the ENTIRE world’s lithium supply to fulfill his plans.
Otherwise, he’ll lose billions of dollars on his investment.
The same for Warren Buffett.
Bottom line:
Even with a 400% gain in the past few months, the lithium price has just begun to surge.
And there’s no time to lose...
Musk has already begun production on the Tesla 3 and is desperate to get his hands on lithium...
He’s signing deals and contracts to secure the supply, and it’s likely he’ll do so with this company.
The Big 4 won’t just sit around when that happens.
They’ll scramble over each other to stop Musk from sidestepping their monopoly...
And there’s only one way they can do that...
Pay a handsome price on a buyout deal.
We already know our energy market rainmakers always get investors — and themselves — the most lucrative deal...
Often 100 times or more the current share price.
And everyone who bought in on the ground floor will become fantastically rich, almost overnight.
I want that to be YOU.
Which is why I’ve compiled all the details on this tiny company in my brand-new lithium market research report:
"Lithium Rush Profits:
100-Times Your Money on the Only
Play
for the Lithium Boom"
And let me be clear:
While there are all-new fortunes about to be minted in the lithium boom...
If you know where to look, and when to buy, it could mean the difference between losing your shirt...
Or retiring wealthier than you ever dreamed in 2016.
And I ONLY know where to look because of my extensive “boots-on-the-ground” investigations...
I go out to the mines... the deposits... the operations...
I meet with the management, which is a crucial (yet overlooked) asset for any resource company...
I see “behind the scenes”... pulling up the curtain on the quarterly earnings report.
While traveling the world, I’ve combed the entire lithium sector from top to bottom.
And this single pick is the cream of the crop. Hands down.
Again, I’ve included full details on this 100-bagger in my FREE report: “Lithium Rush Profits: 100-Times Your Money on the Only Play for the Lithium Boom.”
Here’s a quick preview of what you’ll get:
While there are all-new fortunes about to be minted in the lithium boom...
If you know where to look, and when to buy, it could mean the difference between losing your shirt...
Or retiring wealthier than you ever dreamed in 2016.
And I ONLY know where to look because of my extensive “boots-on-the-ground” investigations...
I go out to the mines... the deposits... the operations...
I meet with the management, which is a crucial (yet overlooked) asset for any resource company...
I see “behind the scenes”... pulling up the curtain on the quarterly earnings report.
While traveling the world, I’ve combed the entire lithium sector from top to bottom.
And this single pick is the cream of the crop. Hands down.
Again, I’ve included full details on this 100-bagger in my FREE report: “Lithium Rush Profits: 100-Times Your Money on the Only Play for the Lithium Boom.”
Here’s a quick preview of what you’ll get:
Including...
The company’s name and ticker symbol.Thorough company profiles... based on firsthand analysis, including information you won’t find on CNBC, in Forbes, or even in industry journals."Off-the-cuff” footage of its mines and operations, including my interviews with its executives.The analyst “consensus” you won’t hear in press releases... but I hear from hobnobbing with industry insiders.And details of its assets, holdings, and upcoming dates for company reports.
You get all of this absolutely FREE today... so you can position yourself now.
All I ask is that you give my advisory research service, Early Advantage, an absolutely free test drive.
All I ask is that you give my advisory research service, Early Advantage, an absolutely free test drive.
Join the Club
Hi. I'm Nick Hodge.
I'm an investment analyst here at Angel Publishing in Baltimore, Maryland.
I'm also editor of Nick Hodge's Early Advantage, the resource for big profits from little-known breakthroughs and disruptive technologies in energy, electronics, technology, agriculture, and more.
No sector is off limits.
In just the past few years, I've brought investors massive, rapid-fire gains from companies in multiple sectors, such as:
I'm an investment analyst here at Angel Publishing in Baltimore, Maryland.
I'm also editor of Nick Hodge's Early Advantage, the resource for big profits from little-known breakthroughs and disruptive technologies in energy, electronics, technology, agriculture, and more.
No sector is off limits.
In just the past few years, I've brought investors massive, rapid-fire gains from companies in multiple sectors, such as:
- 159% on Xethanol Inc. (in 3 months)
- 119% on Cree
- 123% on Lite Access
- 211% on Golden Leaf Holdings
- 316% on Akeena Solar
- 101% on JA Solar
- 245% on Organovo
- 426% on Alternate Energy Holdings (in just 3 months)
- 110% on Solarfun Power
- 113% on DNI Metals
- 391% on BYD Company (in 3 months)
- 240% on Brazil Resources
- And many more.
The list goes on and on. I've banked dozens of multi-baggers and
hundreds of double-digit wins over my career. We'd be here quite some
time if I listed them all out here.
But know this: Off of just one of my recommendations, you could make the type of money that could change your portfolio... or even your life.
How do I know? It’s already happened.
One guy by the name of Dan Leopold wrote to me about one of my recent recommendations...
But know this: Off of just one of my recommendations, you could make the type of money that could change your portfolio... or even your life.
How do I know? It’s already happened.
One guy by the name of Dan Leopold wrote to me about one of my recent recommendations...
"I made over $100,000 with you on the first run a year or so ago..."
I’ve had to redact the stock name there because it’s an active play
that’s still making people money, and it wouldn’t be fair to those
currently holding positions.
Donald McMillan shared his story, too:
"I did very well on two picks. Pretty lucky with a profit of $27,649!"
And Anthony Reymond recently wrote me to say:
"This is the most profitable service in almost 10 years of trading. Pure and simple. [Three picks] have been triple-digit winners for me. As a friend of mine who speaks broken English would say, 'THANK YOU VERY BIG.'"
But my favorite is from Tom Donaldson, who made nearly half a million dollars on a single trade:
"Nick — My account is now over $450,000. Happy with the gains so far! Thanks!"
So as you can see, I continually provide the potential for huge gains.
And I can tell you this...
It takes a lot of hard work and boots-on-the-ground research to maintain the success I’ve experienced.
Whether it’s flying out to California and speaking with an aquaculture expert to get the inside details on a world-changing medical discovery...
And I can tell you this...
It takes a lot of hard work and boots-on-the-ground research to maintain the success I’ve experienced.
Whether it’s flying out to California and speaking with an aquaculture expert to get the inside details on a world-changing medical discovery...
Or taking a tour with Canadian CEOs to uncover the newest intelligence in the world of energy...
Or even interviewing Montel Williams in the hopes of discovering the next 1,000% gainer in the market...
There’s not a stone I won’t turn over if I think there’s money to be made on the other side.
I Spend Millions on My Research
You already know the best way to make a lot of money is to get in the
game early — before a company makes news with a major discovery in the
mining or energy sector... the creation of some disruptive technology...
or breakthroughs in agriculture or health.
I’ll go to any extent I feel necessary to make sure things are on the up-and-up before I recommend something other folks might put their money into.
I don’t simply sit behind a desk, stare at a computer screen, and pick a stock based on some arcane information from an annual report.
That’s for the no-talent hacks that think they know what they’re doing.
Not me. I do the real research most analysts don’t feel like doing — or can’t afford to do.
I’ve been in a three-man helicopter over the Canadian wilderness... stood on the edge of 500-foot-deep mines... and attended $5,000/seat conferences across the country... all in the name of securing the full stories behind the biggest wealth-creating opportunities in the world.
You can even say I’ve hobnobbed with the financial elite...
I’ll go to any extent I feel necessary to make sure things are on the up-and-up before I recommend something other folks might put their money into.
I don’t simply sit behind a desk, stare at a computer screen, and pick a stock based on some arcane information from an annual report.
That’s for the no-talent hacks that think they know what they’re doing.
Not me. I do the real research most analysts don’t feel like doing — or can’t afford to do.
I’ve been in a three-man helicopter over the Canadian wilderness... stood on the edge of 500-foot-deep mines... and attended $5,000/seat conferences across the country... all in the name of securing the full stories behind the biggest wealth-creating opportunities in the world.
You can even say I’ve hobnobbed with the financial elite...
If you didn’t already know, the "other guy" in that snapshot is John Paulson, American hedge fund guru and billionaire.
We were both invited to a closed-door investment summit in Puerto Rico recently, and we had a nice little chat.
It’s pretty obvious these things don’t happen for analysts who refuse to leave the office — or get out of bed.
But I do it because it’s what I love to do. It’s what I’ve always loved to do.
Giving readers like YOU the early advantage on any moneymaking or money-saving opportunity available long before the rest of the market catches on.
That's what Early Advantage is all about.
I've been on the cutting edge for years, discovering major life-changing, moneymaking opportunities that other financial institutions don't cover.
Just to give you a better idea:
We were both invited to a closed-door investment summit in Puerto Rico recently, and we had a nice little chat.
It’s pretty obvious these things don’t happen for analysts who refuse to leave the office — or get out of bed.
But I do it because it’s what I love to do. It’s what I’ve always loved to do.
Giving readers like YOU the early advantage on any moneymaking or money-saving opportunity available long before the rest of the market catches on.
That's what Early Advantage is all about.
I've been on the cutting edge for years, discovering major life-changing, moneymaking opportunities that other financial institutions don't cover.
Just to give you a better idea:
- Before 3D printing made the news, I told my readers about a company called Organovo. It develops three-dimensional (3D) human tissue printing technology to create tissue on demand for research and surgical applications. Since then, the stock has surged over 570%.
- Last October, I set up an exclusive deal for my readers with a small Canadian medical marijuana firm. This allowed us to buy in literally days before the company’s IPO. In just 8 days, the company’s shares took off for 211% gains and we booked the profits. That’s more than triple our money in just a week’s time!
- And I've closed, in total, more than 210 double- and triple-digit winners on my stock recommendations alone by locating little-known wealth-building opportunities before the masses knew about them.
My research comes with NO RISK and absolutely NO OBLIGATIONS.
For 60 days, you'll have the chance to profit from every single one
of the winning investments I’ve shared exclusively with my followers...
without risking a single dime.
I want you to see for yourself how potentially profitable Early Advantage really could be for you.
Simply put, the minute you claim your copy of "Lithium Rush Profits: 100-Times Your Money on the Only Play for the Lithium Boom," you'll immediately receive 60 full days of unrestricted access to the following:
I want you to see for yourself how potentially profitable Early Advantage really could be for you.
Simply put, the minute you claim your copy of "Lithium Rush Profits: 100-Times Your Money on the Only Play for the Lithium Boom," you'll immediately receive 60 full days of unrestricted access to the following:
- Quick Profits E-alerts: Get flash updates on the latest moneymaking scoops from my profit alerts. These obscure recommendations — that cannot wait a minute — will be delivered straight to your inbox seconds after they're written, as profitable opportunities could surface tomorrow.
- Regular Portfolio Updates: You'll know exactly what's happening with each profit-making play in your model portfolio, including regular updates and any news that will send the stock soaring further or when to sell for maximum profits.
- The Members-Only Early Advantage Website: Your gateway to my secure online platform for members only, with my no-nonsense research reports, commentary, picks, and current portfolio. You'll even get fast-track commentary on how to get the most out of my service.
- Research Videos: You'll have full access to my "boots-on-the-ground" research videos when I travel around the country investigating companies, visiting their facilities, and talking to CEOs. That way, you can follow my travels from your living room.
Within minutes of signing up, you'll receive an email with your password to the Early Advantage website... your ultimate gateway to unheard-of profits in cutting-edge sectors ahead of the crowd.
Unbelievable Value!
So how much does all this cost?
The short answer is: nothing.
I’ve convinced my publisher to give you a special deal... one that we’ve never offered before.
Now, I've seen research services like Early Advantage sell for $10,000 or more.
There are also "analysts" on Wall Street who pay thousands for these small-audience subscriptions.
Some of these analysts work in hidden niches of the market, making millions per year to research new ways to play upcoming trends.
To them, services like mine are a leg up on the competition, and they would happily pay $10,000 or more per year, since it’s really a fraction of the cost some "professionals" shell out for research like this.
But even though I could see this service going for that much, I know it would be difficult for everyday investors to participate at such high a price...
So I asked myself, What’s the absolute minimum I could ask people to pay for this service? What's reasonable? What's fair, considering the fundamental value?
After all, Angel Publishing and Outsider Club are in the publishing biz, and we have to keep the lights on here. That, and many of the companies I recommend with this investment strategy require deep investigation.
That last part means I have to travel out to worksites... talk to the geologists and engineers... rub elbows with the people on drill decks and in core shacks... and meet with the CEOs and other executives...
So after crunching the numbers, I finally settled on a price of $1,599 per year for this service. At least, that will be the regular price of this service moving forward.
It’s easy to understand why: One single recommendation could easily pay for your entire subscription.
For example, one of my followers, Chris G., recently sent me this note:
The short answer is: nothing.
I’ve convinced my publisher to give you a special deal... one that we’ve never offered before.
Now, I've seen research services like Early Advantage sell for $10,000 or more.
There are also "analysts" on Wall Street who pay thousands for these small-audience subscriptions.
Some of these analysts work in hidden niches of the market, making millions per year to research new ways to play upcoming trends.
To them, services like mine are a leg up on the competition, and they would happily pay $10,000 or more per year, since it’s really a fraction of the cost some "professionals" shell out for research like this.
But even though I could see this service going for that much, I know it would be difficult for everyday investors to participate at such high a price...
So I asked myself, What’s the absolute minimum I could ask people to pay for this service? What's reasonable? What's fair, considering the fundamental value?
After all, Angel Publishing and Outsider Club are in the publishing biz, and we have to keep the lights on here. That, and many of the companies I recommend with this investment strategy require deep investigation.
That last part means I have to travel out to worksites... talk to the geologists and engineers... rub elbows with the people on drill decks and in core shacks... and meet with the CEOs and other executives...
So after crunching the numbers, I finally settled on a price of $1,599 per year for this service. At least, that will be the regular price of this service moving forward.
It’s easy to understand why: One single recommendation could easily pay for your entire subscription.
For example, one of my followers, Chris G., recently sent me this note:
"Thanks Nick, I grabbed a quick 36% gain today. That'll take care of this year's subscription price!"
Another of my followers, who wishes to remain anonymous, chimed in,
"I just renewed Early Advantage. Made $6,000 on one play, so my membership has more than paid for itself. Keep 'em coming!"
Another one of my followers, Donald M., said he made a profit of $27,649 last year.
That’s enough to pay for 17 years of my research!
Todd S. is up a bit more, saying...
"Thanks to Early Advantage, I'm planning to retire a multimillionaire!"
Given these kinds of gains, I'm sure you'll agree $1,599 is a bargain.
But you won’t have to pay that.
But you won’t have to pay that.
Reply Immediately and Receive
My "Charter Member" Pricing
As one of my invited subscribers, I’m prepared to offer you the entire Early Advantage subscription for just a fraction of the cost...
In fact, you’ll pay 50% less than others pay for 12 months of my service.
That’s a HUGE discount off the normal price!
Simply click the "Subscribe Now" button below to see your final pricing.
I truly believe this lithium boom play is the single best opportunity I’ve discovered in 2016. I want to make absolutely sure you don't miss out on your chance to profit from it.
But there’s no telling how long this offer will be open, especially considering that this company is small now but could be hitting the mainstream soon.
Even if we can at some point reopen this offer, it will likely only be to a handful of people and will probably come with the full price tag.
It’s a truly unique opportunity.
Because when I release my next alert, you could be up and running on your own path to becoming... well, much better off financially!
Subscribe at the end of this presentation to start receive your Profit Alerts each month!
In fact, you’ll pay 50% less than others pay for 12 months of my service.
That’s a HUGE discount off the normal price!
Simply click the "Subscribe Now" button below to see your final pricing.
I truly believe this lithium boom play is the single best opportunity I’ve discovered in 2016. I want to make absolutely sure you don't miss out on your chance to profit from it.
But there’s no telling how long this offer will be open, especially considering that this company is small now but could be hitting the mainstream soon.
Even if we can at some point reopen this offer, it will likely only be to a handful of people and will probably come with the full price tag.
It’s a truly unique opportunity.
Because when I release my next alert, you could be up and running on your own path to becoming... well, much better off financially!
Subscribe at the end of this presentation to start receive your Profit Alerts each month!
You're Minutes Away From Starting...
You simply cannot afford to not join my research service immediately.
Click the "Subscribe Now" button below to receive my latest alert, and you could be on your way to riding the biggest gains of your life.
And if you're still not convinced, you have 60 days to decide if my brand-new strategy is really right for you!
You have my personal guarantee...
My "Keep Everything & Risk Nothing" DOUBLE GUARANTEE
You see, I stand behind every piece of advice, insight, and recommendation I make with 100% confidence. Your complete satisfaction is guaranteed — or your money back!
So I want you to go ahead and take a FULL 60 DAYS to have a good look at every breakout company I've uncovered.
And then, if for any reason you're not totally thrilled...
Just tell us to send your money back, and we'll promptly refund every penny, NO QUESTIONS ASKED.
You’ll get all the details about this lithium company that could soar for a 100-bagger. All the exclusive information on the members-only Early Advantage website. All the reports and investment guides. All the recommendations. All the articles and investing tips.
And if you join me today, I will give you access to three bonus reports — ABSOLUTELY FREE:
Click the "Subscribe Now" button below to receive my latest alert, and you could be on your way to riding the biggest gains of your life.
And if you're still not convinced, you have 60 days to decide if my brand-new strategy is really right for you!
You have my personal guarantee...
My "Keep Everything & Risk Nothing" DOUBLE GUARANTEE
You see, I stand behind every piece of advice, insight, and recommendation I make with 100% confidence. Your complete satisfaction is guaranteed — or your money back!
So I want you to go ahead and take a FULL 60 DAYS to have a good look at every breakout company I've uncovered.
And then, if for any reason you're not totally thrilled...
Just tell us to send your money back, and we'll promptly refund every penny, NO QUESTIONS ASKED.
You’ll get all the details about this lithium company that could soar for a 100-bagger. All the exclusive information on the members-only Early Advantage website. All the reports and investment guides. All the recommendations. All the articles and investing tips.
And if you join me today, I will give you access to three bonus reports — ABSOLUTELY FREE:
"50-Times Your Money On the Biggest Medical Breakthrough since the Polio Vaccine""The Golden Land Bank: Score 3,000%+ Gains on the Trade of the Decade"“The Third Supercycle: How to Grab 10,000% Profits from the Coming Uranium Boom”All three bonus reports are yours FREE when you agree to test-drive Early Advantage for 60 full days starting right now.
The intel in just one of these special briefings could easily pay for your membership many times over...
And they're yours to keep — no matter what your final decision is. But you must act fast...
As you’ve seen, the lithium supercycle is heating up right now. The opportunity is hot.
The tiny $2 company leading the charge is on the verge of explosive, life-changing profits.
Already, my readers have seen their money surge 1,667% in just four months — and we’re just getting started.
This year a potential deal for Elon Musk’s Tesla 3 rollout looks like it’s already in the bag.
When that happens, the lithium giants will enter a fierce bidding war...
One that will send its shares to $10... $25... $34 — and beyond. All in no time flat.
Time is of the essence.
So you’ve seen the charts. You’ve seen the proof.
You’ve seen the wealth and money.
Here’s what I suggest you do right now...
Click the link below to get started right away.
You’ll be able to review everything on the next page before your order is final.
And remember, this offer is risk-free for 60 days.
If you don’t like what you see, call me and cancel.
But if you’re still reading, I don’t think you'll need to worry, because I seriously doubt you'll be canceling...
Especially when you see what I’ve prepared for you.
So go ahead and start your own path to wealth. Click the link below.
Remember... your opportunity for incredible wealth could start immediately with my next alert.
I urge you not to delay.
I likely won't be able to offer this amazing deal to anyone else after this initial offer expires.
I look forward to the wealth we'll make together.
Just click below to get started...
Call it like you see it,
Nick Hodge
Editor and Creator, Early Advantage
Top Stocks for the Lithium Boom
http://www.outsiderclub.com/top-stocks-for-the-lithium-boom/2036
The global lithium space is on fire.
Just in the last six months, as evidenced by the Global X Lithium ETF
(NYSE: LIT), it’s up a bit more than 40%. It’s outperforming the
S&P (the red line) more than twice over.
There’s a reason Goldman Sachs is calling it “the new gasoline.” And The Economist says it's “the world’s hottest commodity.”
Now, a 40% gain in six months is nothing to sneeze at.
But you can do much better in the lithium space.
For starters, that lithium ETF I mentioned above has three stocks as more than 35% of its holdings:
- FMC Corp. (NYSE: FMC)
- Chemical & Mining Company of Chile (NYSE: SQM); and
- Albemarle Corp. (NYSE: ALB)
And I get why the fund is structured that way. Those three companies
are responsible for upwards of 80% of the lithium that comes out of the
ground annually.
But lithium is just a tiny fraction of the business that FMC, SQM, and Albemarle do. They are diversified miners.
It’s like investing in Nintendo to profit from Pokemon. People do it,
but it’s not really a pure play and it often ends badly. The market
erased over $6 billion in market cap from Nintendo as the world learned
it only has a small stake in the Pokemon company.
So for the purest lithium gains… you’ll want to invest in a company
that explores for or produces lithium as its main business. As far as I
can tell, only three of the lithium ETFs 25 holdings are pure-play
lithium companies:
- Lithium Americas (TSX: LAC)
- Orocobre (TSX: ORL)
- Bacanora (TSX-V: BCN)
And here’s how those lithium stocks have done over the past six months:
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Lithium Americas is up ~150% and Orocobre is up about 60% — both
beating the ETF because they are pure plays. Lithium Americas is
advancing a lithium project in Argentina under a JV with SQM. Orocobre
is ramping up production at its Salar de Olaroz. Bacanora is trying to
produce lithium from clays — rather than from brine or hard rock — and
that’s never been done before.
But here’s the thing with those stocks… the market already knows
their stories. Lithium Americas has a market capitalization over $200
million. Orocobre’s is over $700 million.
And the world will need more lithium in addition to what they can produce.
In the next 10 years or so, the world will need some three to five times more lithium than was produced in 2015.
There were 1.4 billion smartphones sold last year. 194 million laptops. 320 million tablets.
Electric cars will soon dwarf all of that.
In fact, just the targeted production of Tesla's new Model 3 —
500,000 annually — would consume the world's entire lithium supply.
All of it. None left for Tesla's other models or for any other
electric car manufacturers. None left over for phones or laptops like
the one I'm writing this on.
It's one of the reasons Tesla has built a lithium-ion battery
“Gigafactory.” It just opened last month, and there's been a bit of
fanfare surrounding it.
So finding the small, pure-play lithium companies today will put you
in the best position to reap the most profits from the lithium that will
supply the future.
Here is the chart of Lithium Americas, Bacanora, and Orocobre again… only this time with my top lithium pick added:
It’s gone up several thousand percent in the past six months. And I
think it can do it again. It’s putting a project into production in
South America, owns the largest lithium land package in Nevada, and has
the best management and board I can find in the space.
It also still trades with a tiny market cap of $100 million.
If you’d like to see my full report on the lithium sector, what to avoid, and all the details on my tiny top pick… just click this link.
Call it like you see it,
@nickchodge on TwitterNick is the Founder and President of the Outsider Club, and the Investment Director of the thousands-strong stock advisory, Early Advantage. Co-author of two best-selling investment books, including Energy Investing for Dummies, his insights have been shared on news programs and in magazines and newspapers around the world. For more on Nick, take a look at his editor's page.
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Related Articles
I can't think of any commodity
that's had a better 2016 than lithium. Just nine months ago it was
selling for $5,000 per metric ton. Now it's at $8,500 and could make
$10,000 by year end.
Lithium (from Greek: λίθος lithos, "stone") is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silver-white metal belonging to the alkali metal group of chemical elements. Under standard conditions, it is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly reactive and flammable. For this reason, it is typically stored in mineral oil. When cut open, it exhibits a metallic luster, but contact with moist air corrodes the surface quickly to a dull silvery gray, then black tarnish. Because of its high reactivity, lithium never occurs freely in nature, and instead, appears only in compounds, which are usually ionic. Lithium occurs in a number of pegmatitic minerals, but due to its solubility as an ion, is present in ocean water and is commonly obtained from brines and clays. On a commercial scale, lithium is isolated electrolytically from a mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride.
The nucleus of the lithium atom verges on instability, since the two stable lithium isotopes found in nature have among the lowest binding energies per nucleon of all stable nuclides. Because of its relative nuclear instability, lithium is less common in the solar system than 25 of the first 32 chemical elements even though the nuclei are very light in atomic weight.[3] For related reasons, lithium has important links to nuclear physics. The transmutation of lithium atoms to helium in 1932 was the first fully man-made nuclear reaction, and lithium-6 deuteride serves as a fusion fuel in staged thermonuclear weapons.[4]
Lithium and its compounds have several industrial applications, including heat-resistant glass and ceramics, lithium grease lubricants, flux additives for iron, steel and aluminium production, lithium batteries, and lithium-ion batteries. These uses consume more than three quarters of lithium production.
Trace amounts of lithium are present in all organisms. The element serves no apparent vital biological function, since animals and plants survive in good health without it, though non-vital functions have not been ruled out. The lithium ion Li+ administered as any of several lithium salts has proved to be useful as a mood-stabilizing drug in the treatment of bipolar disorder in humans.
Like the other alkali metals, lithium has a single valence electron that is easily given up to form a cation.[5] Because of this, lithium is a good conductor of heat and electricity as well as a highly reactive element, though it is the least reactive of the alkali metals. Lithium's low reactivity is due to the proximity of its valence electron to its nucleus (the remaining two electrons are in the 1s orbital, much lower in energy, and do not participate in chemical bonds).[5]
Lithium metal is soft enough to be cut with a knife. When cut, it possesses a silvery-white color that quickly changes to gray as it oxidizes to lithium oxide.[5] While it has one of the lowest melting points among all metals (180 °C), it has the highest melting and boiling points of the alkali metals.[6]
Lithium has a very low density (0.534 g/cm3), comparable with pine wood. It is the least dense of all elements that are solids at room temperature; the next lightest solid element (potassium, at 0.862 g/cm3) is more than 60% denser. Furthermore, apart from helium and hydrogen, it is less dense than any liquid element, being only two thirds as dense as liquid nitrogen (0.808 g/cm3).[7] Lithium can float on the lightest hydrocarbon oils and is one of only three metals that can float on water, the other two being sodium and potassium.
Lithium's coefficient of thermal expansion is twice that of aluminium and almost four times that of iron.[8] Lithium is superconductive below 400 μK at standard pressure[9] and at higher temperatures (more than 9 K) at very high pressures (>20 GPa).[10] At temperatures below 70 K, lithium, like sodium, undergoes diffusionless phase change transformations. At 4.2 K it has a rhombohedral crystal system (with a nine-layer repeat spacing); at higher temperatures it transforms to face-centered cubic and then body-centered cubic. At liquid-helium temperatures (4 K) the rhombohedral structure is prevalent.[11] Multiple allotropic forms have been identified for lithium at high pressures.[12]
Lithium has a mass specific heat capacity of 3.58 kilojoules per kilogram-kelvin, the highest of all solids.[13][14] Because of this, lithium metal is often used in coolants for heat transfer applications.[13]
When placed over a flame, lithium compounds give off a striking
crimson color, but when it burns strongly the flame becomes a brilliant
silver. Lithium will ignite and burn in oxygen when exposed to water or
water vapors.[17] Lithium is flammable, and it is potentially explosive when exposed to air and especially to water, though less so than the other alkali metals.
The lithium-water reaction at normal temperatures is brisk but
nonviolent because the hydrogen produced does not ignite on its own. As
with all alkali metals, lithium fires are difficult to extinguish,
requiring dry powder fire extinguishers (Class D type). Lithium is the only metal which reacts with nitrogen under normal conditions.[18][19]
Lithium has a diagonal relationship with magnesium, an element of similar atomic and ionic radius. Chemical resemblances between the two metals include the formation of a nitride by reaction with N2, the formation of an oxide (Li
2O) and peroxide (Li
2O
2) when burnt in O2, salts with similar solubilities, and thermal instability of the carbonates and nitrides.[16][20] The metal reacts with hydrogen gas at high temperatures to produce lithium hydride (LiH).[21]
Other known binary compounds include halides (LiF, LiCl, LiBr, LiI), sulfide (Li
2S), superoxide (LiO
2), and carbide (Li
2C
2). Many other inorganic compounds are known in which lithium combines with anions to form salts: borates, amides, carbonate, nitrate, or borohydride (LiBH
4). Lithium aluminium hydride (LiAlH
4) is commonly used as a reducing agent in organic synthesis.
Multiple organolithium reagents are known in which there is a direct bond between carbon and lithium atoms, effectively creating a carbanion. These are extremely powerful bases and nucleophiles. In many of these organolithium compounds, the lithium ions tend to aggregate into high-symmetry clusters by themselves, which is relatively common for alkali cations.[22] LiHe, a very weakly interacting van der Waals compound, has been detected at very low temperatures.[23]
7Li is one of the primordial elements (or, more properly, primordial nuclides) produced in Big Bang nucleosynthesis. A small amount of both 6Li and 7Li are produced in stars, but are thought to be "burned" as fast as produced.[27] Additional small amounts of lithium of both 6Li and 7Li may be generated from solar wind, cosmic rays hitting heavier atoms, and from early solar system 7Be and 10Be radioactive decay.[28] While lithium is created in stars during stellar nucleosynthesis, it is further burned. 7Li can also be generated in carbon stars.[29]
Lithium isotopes fractionate substantially during a wide variety of natural processes,[30] including mineral formation (chemical precipitation), metabolism, and ion exchange. Lithium ions substitute for magnesium and iron in octahedral sites in clay minerals, where 6Li is preferred to 7Li, resulting in enrichment of the light isotope in processes of hyperfiltration and rock alteration. The exotic 11Li is known to exhibit a nuclear halo. The process known as laser isotope separation can be used to separate lithium isotopes, in particular 7Li from 6Li.[31]
Nuclear weapons manufacture and other nuclear physics applications are a major source of artificial lithium fractionation, with the light isotope 6Li being retained by industry and military stockpiles to such an extent that it has caused slight but measurable change in the 6Li to 7Li ratios in natural sources, such as rivers. This has led to unusual uncertainty in the standardized atomic weight of lithium, since this quantity depends on the natural abundance ratios of these naturally-occurring stable lithium isotopes, as they are available in commercial lithium mineral sources.[32]
According to modern cosmological theory, lithium—in both stable isotopes (lithium-6 and lithium-7)—was one of the 3 elements synthesized in the Big Bang.[33] Though the amount of lithium generated in Big Bang nucleosynthesis is dependent upon the number of photons per baryon,
for accepted values the lithium abundance can be calculated, and there
is a "cosmological lithium discrepancy" in the Universe: older stars
seem to have less lithium than they should, and some younger stars have
much more. The lack of lithium in older stars is apparently caused by
the "mixing" of lithium into the interior of stars, where it is
destroyed,[34] while lithium is produced in younger stars. Though it transmutes into two atoms of helium due to collision with a proton
at temperatures above 2.4 million degrees Celsius (most stars easily
attain this temperature in their interiors), lithium is more abundant
than current computations would predict in later-generation stars.[15]
Though it was one of the three first elements to be synthesized in the Big Bang, lithium, together with beryllium and boron
are markedly less abundant than other elements. This is a result of the
low temperature necessary to destroy lithium, and a lack of common
processes to produce it.[36]
Lithium is also found in brown dwarf substellar objects and certain anomalous orange stars. Because lithium is present in cooler, less-massive brown dwarfs, but is destroyed in hotter red dwarf stars, its presence in the stars' spectra can be used in the "lithium test" to differentiate the two, as both are smaller than the Sun.[15][37][38] Certain orange stars can also contain a high concentration of lithium. Those orange stars found to have a higher than usual concentration of lithium (such as Centaurus X-4) orbit massive objects—neutron stars or black holes—whose gravity evidently pulls heavier lithium to the surface of a hydrogen-helium star, causing more lithium to be observed.[15]
Estimates for the Earth's crustal content range from 20 to 70 ppm by weight.[16] In keeping with its name, lithium forms a minor part of igneous rocks, with the largest concentrations in granites. Granitic pegmatites also provide the greatest abundance of lithium-containing minerals, with spodumene and petalite being the most commercially viable sources.[16] Another significant mineral of lithium is lepidolite.[43] A newer source for lithium is hectorite clay, the only active development of which is through the Western Lithium Corporation in the United States.[44] At 20 mg lithium per kg of Earth's crust,[45] lithium is the 25th most abundant element.
According to the Handbook of Lithium and Natural Calcium, "Lithium is a comparatively rare element, although it is found in many rocks and some brines, but always in very low concentrations. There are a fairly large number of both lithium mineral and brine deposits but only comparatively few of them are of actual or potential commercial value. Many are very small, others are too low in grade."[46]
The US Geological Survey estimates that in 2010, Chile had the largest reserves by far (7.5 million tonnes)[47] and the highest annual production (8,800 tonnes). One of the largest reserve bases[note 1] of lithium is in the Salar de Uyuni area of Bolivia, which has 5.4 million tonnes. Other major suppliers include Australia, Argentina and China.[39][48]
In June 2010, the New York Times reported that American geologists were conducting ground surveys on dry salt lakes in western Afghanistan believing that large deposits of lithium are located there. "Pentagon officials said that their initial analysis at one location in Ghazni Province showed the potential for lithium deposits as large as those of Bolivia, which now has the world's largest known lithium reserves."[49] These estimates are "based principally on old data, which was gathered mainly by the Soviets during their occupation of Afghanistan from 1979–1989". Stephen Peters, the head of the USGS's Afghanistan Minerals Project, said that he was unaware of USGS involvement in any new surveying for minerals in Afghanistan in the past two years. 'We are not aware of any discoveries of lithium,' he said."[50]
Petalite (LiAlSi4O10) was discovered in 1800 by the Brazilian chemist and statesman José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva in a mine on the island of Utö, Sweden.[52][53][54][55] However, it was not until 1817 that Johan August Arfwedson, then working in the laboratory of the chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius, detected the presence of a new element while analyzing petalite ore.[56][57][58][59] This element formed compounds similar to those of sodium and potassium, though its carbonate and hydroxide were less soluble in water and more alkaline.[60] Berzelius gave the alkaline material the name "lithion/lithina", from the Greek word λιθoς (transliterated as lithos,
meaning "stone"), to reflect its discovery in a solid mineral, as
opposed to potassium, which had been discovered in plant ashes, and
sodium which was known partly for its high abundance in animal blood. He
named the metal inside the material "lithium".[5][54][59]
Arfwedson later showed that this same element was present in the minerals spodumene and lepidolite.[54] In 1818, Christian Gmelin was the first to observe that lithium salts give a bright red color to flame.[54][61] However, both Arfwedson and Gmelin tried and failed to isolate the pure element from its salts.[54][59][62] It was not isolated until 1821, when William Thomas Brande obtained it by electrolysis of lithium oxide, a process that had previously been employed by the chemist Sir Humphry Davy to isolate the alkali metals potassium and sodium.[15][62][63][64][65] Brande also described some pure salts of lithium, such as the chloride, and, estimating that lithia (lithium oxide) contained about 55% metal, estimated the atomic weight of lithium to be around 9.8 g/mol (modern value ~6.94 g/mol).[66] In 1855, larger quantities of lithium were produced through the electrolysis of lithium chloride by Robert Bunsen and Augustus Matthiessen.[54][67] The discovery of this procedure led to commercial production of lithium in 1923 by the German company Metallgesellschaft AG, which performed an electrolysis of a liquid mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride.[54][68][69]
The production and use of lithium underwent several drastic changes in history. The first major application of lithium was in high-temperature lithium greases for aircraft engines and similar applications in World War II and shortly after. This use was supported by the fact that lithium-based soaps have a higher melting point than other alkali soaps, and are less corrosive than calcium based soaps. The small market for lithium soaps and lubricating greases was supported by several small mining operations mostly in the United States.
The demand for lithium increased dramatically during the Cold War with the production of nuclear fusion weapons. Both lithium-6 and lithium-7 produce tritium when irradiated by neutrons, and are thus useful for the production of tritium by itself, as well as a form of solid fusion fuel used inside hydrogen bombs in the form of lithium deuteride. The United States became the prime producer of lithium in the period between the late 1950s and the mid-1980s. At the end, the stockpile of lithium was roughly 42,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide. The stockpiled lithium was depleted in lithium-6 by 75%, which was enough to affect the measured atomic weight of lithium in many standardized chemicals, and even the atomic weight of lithium in some "natural sources" of lithium ion which had been "contaminated" by lithium salts discharged from isotope separation facilities, which had found its way into ground water.[32][70]
Lithium was used to decrease the melting temperature of glass and to improve the melting behavior of aluminium oxide when using the Hall-Héroult process.[71][72] These two uses dominated the market until the middle of the 1990s. After the end of the nuclear arms race, the demand for lithium decreased and the sale of Department of Energy stockpiles on the open market further reduced prices.[70] But in the mid-1990s, several companies started to extract lithium from brine which proved to be a less expensive method than underground or even open-pit mining. Most of the mines closed or shifted their focus to other materials because only the ore from zoned pegmatites could be mined for a competitive price. For example, the US mines near Kings Mountain, North Carolina closed before the turn of the 21st century.
The development of lithium ion batteries increased the demand for lithium and became the dominant use in 2007.[73] With the surge of lithium demand in batteries in the 2000s, new companies have expanded brine extraction efforts to meet the rising demand.[74][75]
Lithium production has greatly increased since the end of World War II. The metal is separated from other elements in igneous minerals. Lithium salts are extracted from water in mineral springs, brine pools, and brine deposits. The metal is produced through electrolysis from a mixture of fused 55% lithium chloride and 45% potassium chloride at about 450 °C.[76]
In 1998, the price of lithium was about 95 USD/kg (or 43 USD/lb).[77]
Deposits are found in South America throughout the Andes mountain chain. Chile is the leading producer, followed by Argentina. Both countries recover lithium from brine pools. In the United States, lithium is recovered from brine pools in Nevada.[13] However, half the world's known reserves are located in Bolivia along the central eastern slope of the Andes. In 2009, Bolivia negotiated with Japanese, French, and Korean firms to begin extraction.[80] According to USGS, Bolivia's Uyuni Desert has 5.4 million tonnes of lithium.[80][81] A newly discovered deposit in Wyoming's Rock Springs Uplift is estimated to contain 228,000 tons. Additional deposits in the same formation were estimated to be as much as 18 million tons.[82]
Opinions differ about potential growth. A 2008 study concluded that "realistically achievable lithium carbonate production will be sufficient for only a small fraction of future PHEV and EV global market requirements", that "demand from the portable electronics sector will absorb much of the planned production increases in the next decade", and that "mass production of lithium carbonate is not environmentally sound, it will cause irreparable ecological damage to ecosystems that should be protected and that LiIon propulsion is incompatible with the notion of the 'Green Car'".[48]
However, according to a 2011 study conducted at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley, the currently estimated reserve base of lithium should not be a limiting factor for large-scale battery production for electric vehicles because an estimated 1 billion 40 kWh Li-based batteries could be built with current reserves[83] - about 10 kg of lithium per car.[84] Another 2011 study by researchers from the University of Michigan and Ford Motor Company found sufficient resources to support global demand until 2100, including the lithium required for the potential widespread transportation use. The study estimated global reserves at 39 million tons, and total demand for lithium during the 90-year period analyzed at 12–20 million tons, depending on the scenarios regarding economic growth and recycling rates.[85]
On June 9, 2014, the Financialist stated that demand for lithium was growing at more than 12 percent a year; according to Credit Suisse, this rate exceeds projected availability by 25 percent. The publication compared the 2014 lithium situation with oil, whereby "higher oil prices spurred investment in expensive deepwater and oil sands production techniques"; that is, the price of lithium will continue to rise until more expensive production methods that can boost total output receive the attention of investors.[86]
Lithium (as lithium fluoride) is used as an additive to aluminium smelters (Hall–Héroult process), reducing melting temperature and increasing electrical resistance,[103] a use which accounts for 3% of production (2011).[39]
When used as a flux for welding or soldering, metallic lithium promotes the fusing of metals during the process[104] and eliminates the forming of oxides by absorbing impurities.[citation needed] Alloys of the metal with aluminium, cadmium, copper and manganese are used to make high-performance aircraft parts (see also Lithium-aluminium alloys).[105]
Lithium peroxide (Li2O2) in presence of moisture not only reacts with carbon dioxide to form lithium carbonate, but also releases oxygen.[109][110] The reaction is as follows:
The high non-linearity of lithium niobate also makes it useful in non-linear optics applications. It is used extensively in telecommunication products such as mobile phones and optical modulators, for such components as resonant crystals. Lithium applications are used in more than 60% of mobile phones.[115]
Many other lithium compounds are used as reagents to prepare organic compounds. Some popular compounds include lithium aluminium hydride (LiAlH4), lithium triethylborohydride, n-Butyllithium and tert-butyllithium are commonly used as extremely strong bases called superbase.
The Mark 50 torpedo stored chemical energy propulsion system (SCEPS) uses a small tank of sulfur hexafluoride gas, which is sprayed over a block of solid lithium. The reaction generates heat, creating steam to propel the torpedo in a closed Rankine cycle.[122]
Lithium hydride containing lithium-6 is used in thermonuclear weapons, where it encases the core of the bomb.[123]
Lithium deuteride was the fusion fuel of choice in early versions of the hydrogen bomb. When bombarded by neutrons, both 6Li and 7Li produce tritium — this reaction, which was not fully understood when hydrogen bombs were first tested, was responsible for the runaway yield of the Castle Bravo nuclear test. Tritium fuses with deuterium in a fusion
reaction that is relatively easy to achieve. Although details remain
secret, lithium-6 deuteride apparently still plays a role in modern nuclear weapons as a fusion material.[126]
Lithium fluoride, when highly enriched in the lithium-7 isotope, forms the basic constituent of the fluoride salt mixture LiF-BeF2 used in liquid fluoride nuclear reactors. Lithium fluoride is exceptionally chemically stable and LiF-BeF2 mixtures have low melting points. In addition, 7Li, Be, and F are among the few nuclides with low enough thermal neutron capture cross-sections not to poison the fission reactions inside a nuclear fission reactor.[note 2][127]
In conceptualized (hypothetical) nuclear fusion power plants, lithium will be used to produce tritium in magnetically confined reactors using deuterium and tritium as the fuel. Naturally occurring tritium is extremely rare, and must be synthetically produced by surrounding the reacting plasma with a 'blanket' containing lithium where neutrons from the deuterium-tritium reaction in the plasma will fission the lithium to produce more tritium:
In 2013, the US Government Accountability Office said a shortage of lithium-7 critical to the operation of 65 out of 100 American nuclear reactors “places their ability to continue to provide electricity at some risk”. The problem stems from the decline of US nuclear infrastructure. The equipment needed to separate lithium-6 from lithium-7 is mostly a cold war leftover. The US shut down most of this machinery in 1963, when it had a huge surplus of separated lithium, mostly consumed during the twentieth century. The report said it would take five years and $10 million to $12 million to reestablish the ability to separate lithium-6 from lithium-7.[130]
Reactors that use lithium-7 heat water under high pressure and transfer heat through heat exchangers that are prone to corrosion. The reactors use lithium to counteract the corrosive effects of boric acid, which is added to the water to absorb excess neutrons.[130]
Lithium has also been researched as a possible treatment for cluster headaches.[133]
Lithium is corrosive and requires special handling to avoid skin contact. Breathing lithium dust or lithium compounds (which are often alkaline) initially irritate the nose and throat, while higher exposure can cause a buildup of fluid in the lungs, leading to pulmonary edema. The metal itself is a handling hazard because contact with moisture produces the caustic lithium hydroxide. Lithium is safely stored in non-reactive compounds such as naphtha.[135]
Carriage and shipment of some kinds of lithium batteries may be prohibited aboard certain types of transportation (particularly aircraft) because of the ability of most types of lithium batteries to fully discharge very rapidly when short-circuited, leading to overheating and possible explosion in a process called thermal runaway. Most consumer lithium batteries have built-in thermal overload protection to prevent this type of incident, or are otherwise designed to limit short-circuit currents. Internal shorts from manufacturing defect or physical damage can lead to spontaneous thermal runaway.[138][139]
Apendixes.
By USGS definitions, the reserve base "may encompass those parts of the
resources that have a reasonable potential for becoming economically
available within planning horizons beyond those that assume proven
technology and current economics. The reserve base includes those
resources that are currently economic (reserves), marginally economic
(marginal reserves), and some of those that are currently subeconomic
(subeconomic resources)."
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Lithium
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the chemical element. For the use of lithium as a medication, see Lithium (medication). For other uses, see Lithium (disambiguation).
Lithium floating in oil
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Spectral lines of lithium
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| General properties | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Name, symbol | lithium, Li | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pronunciation | /ˈlɪθiəm/ LI-thee-əm |
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| Appearance | silvery-white | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lithium in the periodic table | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Atomic number (Z) | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Group, block | group 1 (alkali metals), s-block | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Period | period 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Element category | alkali metal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Standard atomic weight (Ar) | 6.94[1] (6.938–6.997)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electron configuration | [He] 2s1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
per shell
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2, 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Physical properties | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Phase | solid | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Melting point | 453.65 K (180.50 °C, 356.90 °F) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boiling point | 1603 K (1330 °C, 2426 °F) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Density near r.t. | 0.534 g/cm3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| when liquid, at m.p. | 0.512 g/cm3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Critical point | 3220 K, 67 MPa (extrapolated) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Heat of fusion | 3.00 kJ/mol | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Heat of vaporization | 136 kJ/mol | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Molar heat capacity | 24.860 J/(mol·K) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
vapor pressure
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| Atomic properties | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oxidation states | +1 (a strongly basic oxide) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electronegativity | Pauling scale: 0.98 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ionization energies | 1st: 520.2 kJ/mol 2nd: 7298.1 kJ/mol 3rd: 11815.0 kJ/mol |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Atomic radius | empirical: 152 pm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Covalent radius | 128±7 pm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Van der Waals radius | 182 pm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miscellanea | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Crystal structure | body-centered cubic (bcc)
 |
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| Speed of sound thin rod | 6000 m/s (at 20 °C) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thermal expansion | 46 µm/(m·K) (at 25 °C) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thermal conductivity | 84.8 W/(m·K) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electrical resistivity | 92.8 nΩ·m (at 20 °C) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Magnetic ordering | paramagnetic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Young's modulus | 4.9 GPa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shear modulus | 4.2 GPa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bulk modulus | 11 GPa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mohs hardness | 0.6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brinell hardness | 5 MPa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CAS Number | 7439-93-2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discovery | Johan August Arfwedson (1817) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First isolation | William Thomas Brande (1821) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Most stable isotopes of lithium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 6Li content may be as low as 3.75% in natural samples. 7Li would therefore have a content of up to 96.25%. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lithium (from Greek: λίθος lithos, "stone") is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silver-white metal belonging to the alkali metal group of chemical elements. Under standard conditions, it is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly reactive and flammable. For this reason, it is typically stored in mineral oil. When cut open, it exhibits a metallic luster, but contact with moist air corrodes the surface quickly to a dull silvery gray, then black tarnish. Because of its high reactivity, lithium never occurs freely in nature, and instead, appears only in compounds, which are usually ionic. Lithium occurs in a number of pegmatitic minerals, but due to its solubility as an ion, is present in ocean water and is commonly obtained from brines and clays. On a commercial scale, lithium is isolated electrolytically from a mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride.
The nucleus of the lithium atom verges on instability, since the two stable lithium isotopes found in nature have among the lowest binding energies per nucleon of all stable nuclides. Because of its relative nuclear instability, lithium is less common in the solar system than 25 of the first 32 chemical elements even though the nuclei are very light in atomic weight.[3] For related reasons, lithium has important links to nuclear physics. The transmutation of lithium atoms to helium in 1932 was the first fully man-made nuclear reaction, and lithium-6 deuteride serves as a fusion fuel in staged thermonuclear weapons.[4]
Lithium and its compounds have several industrial applications, including heat-resistant glass and ceramics, lithium grease lubricants, flux additives for iron, steel and aluminium production, lithium batteries, and lithium-ion batteries. These uses consume more than three quarters of lithium production.
Trace amounts of lithium are present in all organisms. The element serves no apparent vital biological function, since animals and plants survive in good health without it, though non-vital functions have not been ruled out. The lithium ion Li+ administered as any of several lithium salts has proved to be useful as a mood-stabilizing drug in the treatment of bipolar disorder in humans.
Contents
Properties
Atomic and physical
Lithium ingots with a thin layer of black nitride tarnish
Like the other alkali metals, lithium has a single valence electron that is easily given up to form a cation.[5] Because of this, lithium is a good conductor of heat and electricity as well as a highly reactive element, though it is the least reactive of the alkali metals. Lithium's low reactivity is due to the proximity of its valence electron to its nucleus (the remaining two electrons are in the 1s orbital, much lower in energy, and do not participate in chemical bonds).[5]
Lithium metal is soft enough to be cut with a knife. When cut, it possesses a silvery-white color that quickly changes to gray as it oxidizes to lithium oxide.[5] While it has one of the lowest melting points among all metals (180 °C), it has the highest melting and boiling points of the alkali metals.[6]
Lithium has a very low density (0.534 g/cm3), comparable with pine wood. It is the least dense of all elements that are solids at room temperature; the next lightest solid element (potassium, at 0.862 g/cm3) is more than 60% denser. Furthermore, apart from helium and hydrogen, it is less dense than any liquid element, being only two thirds as dense as liquid nitrogen (0.808 g/cm3).[7] Lithium can float on the lightest hydrocarbon oils and is one of only three metals that can float on water, the other two being sodium and potassium.
Lithium floating in oil
Lithium has a mass specific heat capacity of 3.58 kilojoules per kilogram-kelvin, the highest of all solids.[13][14] Because of this, lithium metal is often used in coolants for heat transfer applications.[13]
Chemistry and compounds
Lithium reacts with water easily, but with noticeably less energy than other alkali metals. The reaction forms hydrogen gas and lithium hydroxide in aqueous solution.[5] Because of its reactivity with water, lithium is usually stored in a hydrocarbon sealant, often petroleum jelly. Though the heavier alkali metals can be stored in more dense substances, such as mineral oil, lithium is not dense enough to be fully submerged in these liquids.[15] In moist air, lithium rapidly tarnishes to form a black coating of lithium hydroxide (LiOH and LiOH·H2O), lithium nitride (Li3N) and lithium carbonate (Li2CO3, the result of a secondary reaction between LiOH and CO2).[16]
Hexameric structure of the n-butyllithium fragment in a crystal
Lithium has a diagonal relationship with magnesium, an element of similar atomic and ionic radius. Chemical resemblances between the two metals include the formation of a nitride by reaction with N2, the formation of an oxide (Li
2O) and peroxide (Li
2O
2) when burnt in O2, salts with similar solubilities, and thermal instability of the carbonates and nitrides.[16][20] The metal reacts with hydrogen gas at high temperatures to produce lithium hydride (LiH).[21]
Other known binary compounds include halides (LiF, LiCl, LiBr, LiI), sulfide (Li
2S), superoxide (LiO
2), and carbide (Li
2C
2). Many other inorganic compounds are known in which lithium combines with anions to form salts: borates, amides, carbonate, nitrate, or borohydride (LiBH
4). Lithium aluminium hydride (LiAlH
4) is commonly used as a reducing agent in organic synthesis.
Multiple organolithium reagents are known in which there is a direct bond between carbon and lithium atoms, effectively creating a carbanion. These are extremely powerful bases and nucleophiles. In many of these organolithium compounds, the lithium ions tend to aggregate into high-symmetry clusters by themselves, which is relatively common for alkali cations.[22] LiHe, a very weakly interacting van der Waals compound, has been detected at very low temperatures.[23]
Isotopes
Main article: Isotopes of lithium
Naturally occurring lithium is composed of two stable isotopes, 6Li and 7Li, the latter being the more abundant (92.5% natural abundance).[5][15][24] Both natural isotopes have anomalously low nuclear binding energy per nucleon (compared to the neighboring elements on the periodic table, helium and beryllium); lithium is the only low numbered element that can produce net energy through nuclear fission. The two lithium nuclei have lower binding energies per nucleon than any other stable nuclides other than deuterium and helium-3.[25]
As a result of this, though very light in atomic weight, lithium is
less common in the Solar System than 25 of the first 32 chemical
elements.[3] Seven radioisotopes have been characterized, the most stable being 8Li with a half-life of 838 ms and 9Li with a half-life of 178 ms. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are shorter than 8.6 ms. The shortest-lived isotope of lithium is 4Li, which decays through proton emission and has a half-life of 7.6 × 10−23 s.[26]7Li is one of the primordial elements (or, more properly, primordial nuclides) produced in Big Bang nucleosynthesis. A small amount of both 6Li and 7Li are produced in stars, but are thought to be "burned" as fast as produced.[27] Additional small amounts of lithium of both 6Li and 7Li may be generated from solar wind, cosmic rays hitting heavier atoms, and from early solar system 7Be and 10Be radioactive decay.[28] While lithium is created in stars during stellar nucleosynthesis, it is further burned. 7Li can also be generated in carbon stars.[29]
Lithium isotopes fractionate substantially during a wide variety of natural processes,[30] including mineral formation (chemical precipitation), metabolism, and ion exchange. Lithium ions substitute for magnesium and iron in octahedral sites in clay minerals, where 6Li is preferred to 7Li, resulting in enrichment of the light isotope in processes of hyperfiltration and rock alteration. The exotic 11Li is known to exhibit a nuclear halo. The process known as laser isotope separation can be used to separate lithium isotopes, in particular 7Li from 6Li.[31]
Nuclear weapons manufacture and other nuclear physics applications are a major source of artificial lithium fractionation, with the light isotope 6Li being retained by industry and military stockpiles to such an extent that it has caused slight but measurable change in the 6Li to 7Li ratios in natural sources, such as rivers. This has led to unusual uncertainty in the standardized atomic weight of lithium, since this quantity depends on the natural abundance ratios of these naturally-occurring stable lithium isotopes, as they are available in commercial lithium mineral sources.[32]
Occurrence
Astronomical
Main article: Nucleosynthesis
Nova Centauri 2013 is the first in which evidence of lithium has been found.[35]
Lithium is also found in brown dwarf substellar objects and certain anomalous orange stars. Because lithium is present in cooler, less-massive brown dwarfs, but is destroyed in hotter red dwarf stars, its presence in the stars' spectra can be used in the "lithium test" to differentiate the two, as both are smaller than the Sun.[15][37][38] Certain orange stars can also contain a high concentration of lithium. Those orange stars found to have a higher than usual concentration of lithium (such as Centaurus X-4) orbit massive objects—neutron stars or black holes—whose gravity evidently pulls heavier lithium to the surface of a hydrogen-helium star, causing more lithium to be observed.[15]
Terrestrial
| Country | Production | Reserves[note 1] |
|---|---|---|
 Argentina |
3,800 | 2,000,000 |
 Australia |
13,400 | 1,500,000 |
 Brazil |
160 | 48,000 |
 Canada (2010) |
480 | 180,000 |
 Chile |
11,700 | 7,500,000 |
 People's Republic of China |
2,200 | 3,200,000 |
 Portugal |
300 | 60,000 |
 Zimbabwe |
900 | 23,000 |
| World total | 32,500 | 14,000,000 |
See also: Lithium minerals
Although lithium is widely distributed on Earth, it does not naturally occur in elemental form due to its high reactivity.[5]
The total lithium content of seawater is very large and is estimated as
230 billion tonnes, where the element exists at a relatively constant
concentration of 0.14 to 0.25 parts per million (ppm),[40][41] or 25 micromolar;[42] higher concentrations approaching 7 ppm are found near hydrothermal vents.[41]Estimates for the Earth's crustal content range from 20 to 70 ppm by weight.[16] In keeping with its name, lithium forms a minor part of igneous rocks, with the largest concentrations in granites. Granitic pegmatites also provide the greatest abundance of lithium-containing minerals, with spodumene and petalite being the most commercially viable sources.[16] Another significant mineral of lithium is lepidolite.[43] A newer source for lithium is hectorite clay, the only active development of which is through the Western Lithium Corporation in the United States.[44] At 20 mg lithium per kg of Earth's crust,[45] lithium is the 25th most abundant element.
According to the Handbook of Lithium and Natural Calcium, "Lithium is a comparatively rare element, although it is found in many rocks and some brines, but always in very low concentrations. There are a fairly large number of both lithium mineral and brine deposits but only comparatively few of them are of actual or potential commercial value. Many are very small, others are too low in grade."[46]
The US Geological Survey estimates that in 2010, Chile had the largest reserves by far (7.5 million tonnes)[47] and the highest annual production (8,800 tonnes). One of the largest reserve bases[note 1] of lithium is in the Salar de Uyuni area of Bolivia, which has 5.4 million tonnes. Other major suppliers include Australia, Argentina and China.[39][48]
In June 2010, the New York Times reported that American geologists were conducting ground surveys on dry salt lakes in western Afghanistan believing that large deposits of lithium are located there. "Pentagon officials said that their initial analysis at one location in Ghazni Province showed the potential for lithium deposits as large as those of Bolivia, which now has the world's largest known lithium reserves."[49] These estimates are "based principally on old data, which was gathered mainly by the Soviets during their occupation of Afghanistan from 1979–1989". Stephen Peters, the head of the USGS's Afghanistan Minerals Project, said that he was unaware of USGS involvement in any new surveying for minerals in Afghanistan in the past two years. 'We are not aware of any discoveries of lithium,' he said."[50]
Biological
Lithium is found in trace amount in numerous plants, plankton, and invertebrates, at concentrations of 69 to 5,760 parts per billion (ppb). In vertebrates the concentration is slightly lower, and nearly all vertebrate tissue and body fluids contain lithium ranging from 21 to 763 ppb.[41] Marine organisms tend to bioaccumulate lithium more than terrestrial organisms.[51] Whether lithium has a physiological role in any of these organisms is unknown.[41]History
Johan August Arfwedson is credited with the discovery of lithium in 1817
Arfwedson later showed that this same element was present in the minerals spodumene and lepidolite.[54] In 1818, Christian Gmelin was the first to observe that lithium salts give a bright red color to flame.[54][61] However, both Arfwedson and Gmelin tried and failed to isolate the pure element from its salts.[54][59][62] It was not isolated until 1821, when William Thomas Brande obtained it by electrolysis of lithium oxide, a process that had previously been employed by the chemist Sir Humphry Davy to isolate the alkali metals potassium and sodium.[15][62][63][64][65] Brande also described some pure salts of lithium, such as the chloride, and, estimating that lithia (lithium oxide) contained about 55% metal, estimated the atomic weight of lithium to be around 9.8 g/mol (modern value ~6.94 g/mol).[66] In 1855, larger quantities of lithium were produced through the electrolysis of lithium chloride by Robert Bunsen and Augustus Matthiessen.[54][67] The discovery of this procedure led to commercial production of lithium in 1923 by the German company Metallgesellschaft AG, which performed an electrolysis of a liquid mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride.[54][68][69]
The production and use of lithium underwent several drastic changes in history. The first major application of lithium was in high-temperature lithium greases for aircraft engines and similar applications in World War II and shortly after. This use was supported by the fact that lithium-based soaps have a higher melting point than other alkali soaps, and are less corrosive than calcium based soaps. The small market for lithium soaps and lubricating greases was supported by several small mining operations mostly in the United States.
The demand for lithium increased dramatically during the Cold War with the production of nuclear fusion weapons. Both lithium-6 and lithium-7 produce tritium when irradiated by neutrons, and are thus useful for the production of tritium by itself, as well as a form of solid fusion fuel used inside hydrogen bombs in the form of lithium deuteride. The United States became the prime producer of lithium in the period between the late 1950s and the mid-1980s. At the end, the stockpile of lithium was roughly 42,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide. The stockpiled lithium was depleted in lithium-6 by 75%, which was enough to affect the measured atomic weight of lithium in many standardized chemicals, and even the atomic weight of lithium in some "natural sources" of lithium ion which had been "contaminated" by lithium salts discharged from isotope separation facilities, which had found its way into ground water.[32][70]
Lithium was used to decrease the melting temperature of glass and to improve the melting behavior of aluminium oxide when using the Hall-Héroult process.[71][72] These two uses dominated the market until the middle of the 1990s. After the end of the nuclear arms race, the demand for lithium decreased and the sale of Department of Energy stockpiles on the open market further reduced prices.[70] But in the mid-1990s, several companies started to extract lithium from brine which proved to be a less expensive method than underground or even open-pit mining. Most of the mines closed or shifted their focus to other materials because only the ore from zoned pegmatites could be mined for a competitive price. For example, the US mines near Kings Mountain, North Carolina closed before the turn of the 21st century.
The development of lithium ion batteries increased the demand for lithium and became the dominant use in 2007.[73] With the surge of lithium demand in batteries in the 2000s, new companies have expanded brine extraction efforts to meet the rising demand.[74][75]
Production
Satellite images of the Salar del Hombre Muerto, Argentina (left), and Uyuni, Bolivia (right), salt flats that are rich in lithium. The lithium-rich brine is concentrated by pumping it into solar evaporation ponds (visible in the left image).
World production trend of lithium
In 1998, the price of lithium was about 95 USD/kg (or 43 USD/lb).[77]
Reserves
Worldwide identified reserves in 2008 were estimated by the US Geological Survey (USGS) to be 13 million tonnes,[39] though an accurate estimate of world lithium reserves is difficult.[78][78][79]Deposits are found in South America throughout the Andes mountain chain. Chile is the leading producer, followed by Argentina. Both countries recover lithium from brine pools. In the United States, lithium is recovered from brine pools in Nevada.[13] However, half the world's known reserves are located in Bolivia along the central eastern slope of the Andes. In 2009, Bolivia negotiated with Japanese, French, and Korean firms to begin extraction.[80] According to USGS, Bolivia's Uyuni Desert has 5.4 million tonnes of lithium.[80][81] A newly discovered deposit in Wyoming's Rock Springs Uplift is estimated to contain 228,000 tons. Additional deposits in the same formation were estimated to be as much as 18 million tons.[82]
Opinions differ about potential growth. A 2008 study concluded that "realistically achievable lithium carbonate production will be sufficient for only a small fraction of future PHEV and EV global market requirements", that "demand from the portable electronics sector will absorb much of the planned production increases in the next decade", and that "mass production of lithium carbonate is not environmentally sound, it will cause irreparable ecological damage to ecosystems that should be protected and that LiIon propulsion is incompatible with the notion of the 'Green Car'".[48]
However, according to a 2011 study conducted at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley, the currently estimated reserve base of lithium should not be a limiting factor for large-scale battery production for electric vehicles because an estimated 1 billion 40 kWh Li-based batteries could be built with current reserves[83] - about 10 kg of lithium per car.[84] Another 2011 study by researchers from the University of Michigan and Ford Motor Company found sufficient resources to support global demand until 2100, including the lithium required for the potential widespread transportation use. The study estimated global reserves at 39 million tons, and total demand for lithium during the 90-year period analyzed at 12–20 million tons, depending on the scenarios regarding economic growth and recycling rates.[85]
On June 9, 2014, the Financialist stated that demand for lithium was growing at more than 12 percent a year; according to Credit Suisse, this rate exceeds projected availability by 25 percent. The publication compared the 2014 lithium situation with oil, whereby "higher oil prices spurred investment in expensive deepwater and oil sands production techniques"; that is, the price of lithium will continue to rise until more expensive production methods that can boost total output receive the attention of investors.[86]
Pricing
After the 2007 financial crisis, major suppliers such as Sociedad Química y Minera (SQM) dropped lithium carbonate pricing by 20%.[87] Prices rose in 2012. A 2012 Business Week article outlined the oligopoly in the lithium space: "SQM, controlled by billionaire Julio Ponce, is the second-largest, followed by Rockwood, which is backed by Henry Kravis’s KKR & Co., and Philadelphia-based FMC". Global consumption may jump to 300,000 metric tons a year by 2020 from about 150,000 tons in 2012, to match the demand for lithium batteries that has been growing at about 25 percent a year, outpacing the 4 percent to 5 percent overall gain in lithium production.[88]Extraction
As of 2015 most of the world's lithium production is in South America, where lithium-containing brine is extracted from underground pools and concentrated by solar evaporation. The standard extraction technique is to evaporate water from brine. Each batch takes from 18 to 24 months.[89]Seawater
Lithium is present in seawater, but commercially viable methods of extraction have yet to be developed.[89]Geothermal wells
One potential source of lithium is the leachates of geothermal wells, which are carried to the surface.[90] recovery of lithium has been demonstrated in the field.[91] The lithium is separated by simple filtration. The process and environmental costs are primarily those of the already-operating well; net environmental impacts may thus be positive.[92]Uses
Estimates of global lithium uses in 2011[93]
Ceramics and glass (29%)
Batteries (27%)
Lubricating greases (12%)
Continuous casting (5%)
Air treatment (4%)
Polymers (3%)
Primary aluminum production (2%)
Pharmaceuticals (2%)
Other (16%)
Ceramics and glass
Lithium oxide is widely used as a flux for processing silica, reducing the melting point and viscosity of the material and leading to glazes with improved physical properties including low coefficients of thermal expansion. Worldwide, this is the single largest use for lithium compounds.[93][94] Glazes containing lithium oxides are used for ovenware. Lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) is generally used in this application because it converts to the oxide upon heating.[95]Electrical and electronics
Late in the 20th century, lithium became an important component of battery electrolytes and electrodes, because of its high electrode potential. Because of its low atomic mass, it has a high charge- and power-to-weight ratio. A typical lithium-ion battery can generate approximately 3 volts per cell, compared with 2.1 volts for lead-acid or 1.5 volts for zinc-carbon cells. Lithium-ion batteries, which are rechargeable and have a high energy density, should not be confused with lithium batteries, which are disposable (primary) batteries with lithium or its compounds as the anode.[96][97] Other rechargeable batteries that use lithium include the lithium-ion polymer battery, lithium iron phosphate battery, and the nanowire battery.Lubricating greases
Main article: Lithium grease
The third most common use of lithium is in greases. Lithium hydroxide is a strong base and, when heated with a fat, produces a soap made of lithium stearate. Lithium soap has the ability to thicken oils, and it is used to manufacture all-purpose, high-temperature lubricating greases.[13][98][99]Metallurgy
Lithium (e.g. as lithium carbonate) is used as an additive to continuous casting mould flux slags where it increases fluidity,[100][101] a use which accounts for 5% of global lithium use (2011).[39] Lithium compounds are also used as additives (fluxes) to foundry sand for iron casting to reduce veining.[102]Lithium (as lithium fluoride) is used as an additive to aluminium smelters (Hall–Héroult process), reducing melting temperature and increasing electrical resistance,[103] a use which accounts for 3% of production (2011).[39]
When used as a flux for welding or soldering, metallic lithium promotes the fusing of metals during the process[104] and eliminates the forming of oxides by absorbing impurities.[citation needed] Alloys of the metal with aluminium, cadmium, copper and manganese are used to make high-performance aircraft parts (see also Lithium-aluminium alloys).[105]
Silicon nano-welding
Lithium has been found effective in assisting the perfection of silicon nano-welds in electronic components for electric batteries and other devices.[106]Other chemical and industrial uses
Lithium use in flares and pyrotechnics is due to its rose-red flame.[107]
Pyrotechnics
Lithium compounds are used as pyrotechnic colorants and oxidizers in red fireworks and flares.[13][108]Air purification
Lithium chloride and lithium bromide are hygroscopic and are used as desiccants for gas streams.[13] Lithium hydroxide and lithium peroxide are the salts most used in confined areas, such as aboard spacecraft and submarines, for carbon dioxide removal and air purification. Lithium hydroxide absorbs carbon dioxide from the air by forming lithium carbonate, and is preferred over other alkaline hydroxides for its low weight.Lithium peroxide (Li2O2) in presence of moisture not only reacts with carbon dioxide to form lithium carbonate, but also releases oxygen.[109][110] The reaction is as follows:
- 2 Li2O2 + 2 CO2 → 2 Li2CO3 + O2.
Optics
Lithium fluoride, artificially grown as crystal, is clear and transparent and often used in specialist optics for IR, UV and VUV (vacuum UV) applications. It has one of the lowest refractive indexes and the farthest transmission range in the deep UV of most common materials.[112] Finely divided lithium fluoride powder has been used for thermoluminescent radiation dosimetry (TLD): when a sample of such is exposed to radiation, it accumulates crystal defects which, when heated, resolve via a release of bluish light whose intensity is proportional to the absorbed dose, thus allowing this to be quantified.[113] Lithium fluoride is sometimes used in focal lenses of telescopes.[13][114]The high non-linearity of lithium niobate also makes it useful in non-linear optics applications. It is used extensively in telecommunication products such as mobile phones and optical modulators, for such components as resonant crystals. Lithium applications are used in more than 60% of mobile phones.[115]
Organic and polymer chemistry
Organolithium compounds are widely used in the production of polymer and fine-chemicals. In the polymer industry, which is the dominant consumer of these reagents, alkyl lithium compounds are catalysts/initiators.[116] in anionic polymerization of unfunctionalized olefins.[117][118][119] For the production of fine chemicals, organolithium compounds function as strong bases and as reagents for the formation of carbon-carbon bonds. Organolithium compounds are prepared from lithium metal and alkyl halides.[120]Many other lithium compounds are used as reagents to prepare organic compounds. Some popular compounds include lithium aluminium hydride (LiAlH4), lithium triethylborohydride, n-Butyllithium and tert-butyllithium are commonly used as extremely strong bases called superbase.
Military applications
Metallic lithium and its complex hydrides, such as Li[AlH4], are used as high-energy additives to rocket propellants.[15] Lithium aluminum hydride can also be used by itself as a solid fuel.[121]
The launch of a torpedo using lithium as fuel
Lithium hydride containing lithium-6 is used in thermonuclear weapons, where it encases the core of the bomb.[123]
Nuclear
Lithium-6 is valued as a source material for tritium production and as a neutron absorber in nuclear fusion. Natural lithium contains about 7.5% lithium-6 from which large amounts of lithium-6 have been produced by isotope separation for use in nuclear weapons.[124] Lithium-7 gained interest for use in nuclear reactor coolants.[125]
Lithium deuteride was used as fuel in the Castle Bravo nuclear device.
Lithium fluoride, when highly enriched in the lithium-7 isotope, forms the basic constituent of the fluoride salt mixture LiF-BeF2 used in liquid fluoride nuclear reactors. Lithium fluoride is exceptionally chemically stable and LiF-BeF2 mixtures have low melting points. In addition, 7Li, Be, and F are among the few nuclides with low enough thermal neutron capture cross-sections not to poison the fission reactions inside a nuclear fission reactor.[note 2][127]
In conceptualized (hypothetical) nuclear fusion power plants, lithium will be used to produce tritium in magnetically confined reactors using deuterium and tritium as the fuel. Naturally occurring tritium is extremely rare, and must be synthetically produced by surrounding the reacting plasma with a 'blanket' containing lithium where neutrons from the deuterium-tritium reaction in the plasma will fission the lithium to produce more tritium:
- 6Li + n → 4He + 3T.
In 2013, the US Government Accountability Office said a shortage of lithium-7 critical to the operation of 65 out of 100 American nuclear reactors “places their ability to continue to provide electricity at some risk”. The problem stems from the decline of US nuclear infrastructure. The equipment needed to separate lithium-6 from lithium-7 is mostly a cold war leftover. The US shut down most of this machinery in 1963, when it had a huge surplus of separated lithium, mostly consumed during the twentieth century. The report said it would take five years and $10 million to $12 million to reestablish the ability to separate lithium-6 from lithium-7.[130]
Reactors that use lithium-7 heat water under high pressure and transfer heat through heat exchangers that are prone to corrosion. The reactors use lithium to counteract the corrosive effects of boric acid, which is added to the water to absorb excess neutrons.[130]
Medicine
Main article: Lithium (medication)
Lithium is useful in the treatment of bipolar disorder.[131] Lithium salts may also be helpful for related diagnoses, such as schizoaffective disorder and cyclic major depression. The active part of these salts is the lithium ion Li+.[131] They may increase the risk of developing Ebstein's cardiac anomaly in infants born to women who take lithium during the first trimester of pregnancy.[132]Lithium has also been researched as a possible treatment for cluster headaches.[133]
Precautions
| NFPA 704 "fire diamond" |
|---|
| Fire diamond hazard sign for lithium metal[134] |
Lithium is corrosive and requires special handling to avoid skin contact. Breathing lithium dust or lithium compounds (which are often alkaline) initially irritate the nose and throat, while higher exposure can cause a buildup of fluid in the lungs, leading to pulmonary edema. The metal itself is a handling hazard because contact with moisture produces the caustic lithium hydroxide. Lithium is safely stored in non-reactive compounds such as naphtha.[135]
Regulation
Some jurisdictions limit the sale of lithium batteries, which are the most readily available source of lithium for ordinary consumers. Lithium can be used to reduce pseudoephedrine and ephedrine to methamphetamine in the Birch reduction method, which employs solutions of alkali metals dissolved in anhydrous ammonia.[136][137]Carriage and shipment of some kinds of lithium batteries may be prohibited aboard certain types of transportation (particularly aircraft) because of the ability of most types of lithium batteries to fully discharge very rapidly when short-circuited, leading to overheating and possible explosion in a process called thermal runaway. Most consumer lithium batteries have built-in thermal overload protection to prevent this type of incident, or are otherwise designed to limit short-circuit currents. Internal shorts from manufacturing defect or physical damage can lead to spontaneous thermal runaway.[138][139]
See also
- Dilithium
- List of countries by lithium production
- Lithium compounds
- Lithium (medication)
- Lithium soap
- Lithium-ion battery
- Lithium–air battery
Notes
- Beryllium and fluorine occur only as one isotope, 9Be and 19F respectively. These two, together with 7Li, as well as 2H, 11B, 15N, 209Bi, and the stable isotopes of C, and O, are the only nuclides with low enough thermal neutron capture cross sections aside from actinides to serve as major constituents of a molten salt breeder reactor fuel.
References
definitions:Slides 8–10 (Chapter 14)[dead link]
. Bibcode:2006ApJ...644..229A. doi:10.1086/503538.. Bibcode:2000A&A...358L..49D.p. 238 Es löste sich in diesem ein Salz auf, das an der Luft zerfloss, und nach Art der Strontiansalze den Alkohol mit einer purpurrothen Flamme brennen machte. (There dissolved in this [solvent; namely, absolute alcohol] a salt that deliquesced in air, and in the manner of strontium salts, caused the alcohol to burn with a purple-red flame.)
- "TSA: Safe Travel with Batteries and Devices". Tsa.gov. 1 January 2008. Archived from the original on 4 January 2012.
External links
- Lithium at The Periodic Table of Videos (University of Nottingham)
- International Lithium Alliance
- USGS: Lithium Statistics and Information
- Lithium Supply & Markets 2009 IM Conference 2009 Sustainable lithium supplies through 2020 in the face of sustainable market growth
- University of Southampton, Mountbatten Centre for International Studies, Nuclear History Working Paper No5.
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Periodic table (Large cells) |
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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | H | He | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Li | Be | B | C | N | O | F | Ne | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Na | Mg | Al | Si | P | S | Cl | Ar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | K | Ca | Sc | Ti | V | Cr | Mn | Fe | Co | Ni | Cu | Zn | Ga | Ge | As | Se | Br | Kr | |||||||||||||||
| 5 | Rb | Sr | Y | Zr | Nb | Mo | Tc | Ru | Rh | Pd | Ag | Cd | In | Sn | Sb | Te | I | Xe | |||||||||||||||
| 6 | Cs | Ba | La | Ce | Pr | Nd | Pm | Sm | Eu | Gd | Tb | Dy | Ho | Er | Tm | Yb | Lu | Hf | Ta | W | Re | Os | Ir | Pt | Au | Hg | Tl | Pb | Bi | Po | At | Rn | |
| 7 | Fr | Ra | Ac | Th | Pa | U | Np | Pu | Am | Cm | Bk | Cf | Es | Fm | Md | No | Lr | Rf | Db | Sg | Bh | Hs | Mt | Ds | Rg | Cn | Uut | Fl | Uup | Lv | Uus | Uuo | |
