Multibillion Mines Could Be Europe's Source For Vital Metal Lithium

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Jan 23, 2017 12:44 AM EST

Cornwall - Mining company Cornish Lithium wants to use the new technology to extract lithium from hot spring brines in the granite deep underground. With £5 Million, the company is hoping to have exploration tests around four or five wells drills that covers a large area centered around Camborne, Redruth and St Day.

In Daily Mail, Jeremy Wrathall, chief executive of Cornish Lithium, said, "We believe the potential benefits of developing a lithium industry in Cornwall will be significant for the county and for the UK as a whole." He also added that this will be the opportunity to put Cornwall back in the map as a mining center as well as develop new industry in UK.

Lithium is a chemical element found in nature. It is also used as a medicine to treat psychological disorders like bipolar, acute mania and longer term of mood stabilization and many other mental ailments. While lithium works in the human body system, it can also be used in rechargeable batteries for electric cars and cellular phones to cordless vacuums.

China, Australia and South America are the top producers of lithium in the world. However, there are vast quantities of lithium that has been found in Cornish soil trapped in its large granite store up to 1,000 meters below.

Cornish Lithium assured that the explorations to be done has secured a mineral rights agreement with Canada's Strongbow Exploration and Mineral Exploration and reached agreement with Tregothnan Estates, a significant landowner, to carry out the plan to explore lithium across Cornwall.

Per BBCNews, it is said that the Vital metal would be extracted by drilling at least 400m or 1,312 feet into the rock, pumping out lithium-laden water, which would be then processed. Moreover, Camborne School of Mines professor Frances Wall explains that the project had the potential to give UK its own supply of a Vital metal for which the demand is increasing.

Market of lithium are increasing. It is expected to hit quadruple to £70 billion by 2020 with the dramatic switch towards electric cars across the world. This in line with the historical data gathered for the past 18 months that resulted from a potential market that raised the price of lithium more than double and is now worth between $10,000 or £8,114 and $18,000 or £14,606 a tonne.

The Cornish Lithium company's drive to explore the Vital metal may lead to new significant jobs as well and help revive its once enormous mining industry. Jeremy Warthall also added that the extraction of lithium is very clean and environmentally friendly as well as offering the prospect of generating power through geothermal energy.

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