How We
Extract Lithium

Hard rock (spodumene) lithium mining involves the excavation and processing of lithium-bearing pegmatite rock formations. Producers remove overburden to access the ore body, then extract, crush, mill, and chemically treat the rock to generate a lithium concentrate.

This concentrate — typically spodumene — is then refined into battery-grade lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide at downstream processing facilities.

Characteristics

• Established, well-understood process with decades of operational history
• Higher upfront capital intensity than brine operations
• Generates tailings requiring managed storage and eventual remediation
• Suited to hard-rock deposits in Australia, Canada, and parts of Africa
• Typically produces spodumene concentrate (6% Li₂O) for downstream conversion

A "salar" is a high-altitude salt flat formed by the evaporation of ancient lakes — and certain salars contain extraordinary concentrations of lithium-rich brine beneath their surface. The Lithium Triangle of Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina hosts the world's largest known brine deposits.

In conventional brine operations, lithium-rich groundwater is pumped to the surface and directed into a series of large evaporation ponds. Over 12–18 months, solar evaporation concentrates the brine, progressively separating lithium salts from potassium, magnesium, and other minerals.

Limitations Driving Innovation

• 18-month evaporation cycles create long production lead times
• Significant freshwater consumption in arid, ecologically sensitive regions
• Large surface footprint — hundreds of hectares of evaporation ponds
• Final product purity may require additional processing steps

These limitations are precisely what Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology was developed to overcome.

Direct Lithium Extraction is the transformative technology that TerraVolt has licensed and deployed at the core of its operations. DLE ion-exchange technology employs a specially formulated sorbent material with exceptional selectivity for lithium ions.

This process rapidly and efficiently processes large volumes of low-grade brine — transforming it into a high-purity concentrated lithium product while simultaneously eliminating almost all impurities. The result is an exceptionally pure output suitable directly for battery-grade lithium compound manufacturing.

DLE Advantages vs. Conventional Evaporation

• Speed: Days vs. 12–18 months for conventional evaporation
• Purity: 99%+ recovery efficiency with minimal impurities
• Water: Up to 70% reduction in freshwater consumption
• Footprint: Compact infrastructure — no vast evaporation pond networks
• Flexibility: Operable on lower-grade brines previously considered uneconomic
• Environment: Brine is processed and re-injected, minimizing surface impact

Spray drying is the final processing stage that converts concentrated lithium solution into a dry, high-grade powdered product ready for battery cathode manufacturing.

The concentrated lithium brine is atomized into fine droplets and exposed to a controlled hot-air stream in a spray dryer. Water rapidly evaporates, leaving behind pure, consistently-sized lithium salt particles.

Why Spray Drying Matters

• Produces consistent, precisely-specified particle sizes
• Rapid processing — continuous, scalable production
• Achieves battery-grade specifications required by cathode manufacturers
• Compatible with both lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide production
• Low energy consumption relative to alternative drying methods

The combination of DLE + spray drying represents TerraVolt's full proprietary process chain — from raw brine to battery-ready product.