Beneficiation and Chemical Processing of Lithium Minerals – Phase 2 (FBI CRC No. 030)

Project completed in two stages by Future Battery Industries CRC which receives allocation of MRIWA funds.

The Challenge

Lithium is produced by a small number of suppliers, with companies exporting the lithium minerals mainly as concentrate, achieving limited profit margins. Improved technology for the extraction of lithium minerals and refining of battery grade lithium chemicals and the development of integrated process technologies are necessary to enable the emerging battery manufacturing industry in Australia.

Key Findings

Improved processes across comminution, beneficiation, lithium extraction, impurity removal, reagent recovery and process modelling to enhance yields, reduce costs and lower environmental impact.

Key achievements include up to 20% reductions in energy use, improved extraction efficiency, by‑product valorisation strategies and new approaches for producing battery‑grade lithium reagents.

Benefit to WA

The improved technology will assist WA suppliers in meeting current challenges in processing, developing optimised and alternative processes, delivering tangible benefits to WA in the form of jobs and growth of local communities, at the same time lowering environmental impact.

DOI

Philipa A. Opoku, Boris Albijanic, Aleksandar N. Nikoloski and Bogale Tadesse, 2025, Surface chemistry modifications in grinding and flotation of spodumene, Minerals engineering, Vol.234, 109676,DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2025.109676.  

Philipa A. Opoku, Bogale Tadesse, Boris Albijanic and Aleksandar N. Nikoloski, 2025, An overview of coarse particle beneficiation of lithium ores, Scientific reports, Vol.15(1), 29091, DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-14059-z.

Danni Luo, Wei Sung Ng and George V. Franks, 2025, Selective Aggregation of Fine Spodumene from Quartz with Anionic Polyacrylamide Flocculant and Calcium Activator, Colloids Interfaces, Vol. 9(3), 36, DOI: doi.org/10.3390/colloids9030036.  

Yuik Eom, Laurence Dyer, Aleksandar N. Nikoloski and Richard Diaz Alorro, 2026, Enhancing Lithium Extraction: Effect of Mechanical Activation on the Sulfuric Acid Leaching Behavior of Lepidolite, Minerals (Basel), Vol.16(1), 87, DOI: doi.org/10.3390/min16010087. 

Yuik Eom, Laurence Dyer, Aleksandar Nikoloski and Richard Diaz Alorro, 2024, Mechanochemical Treatment for the Extraction of Lithium from Hard Rock Minerals: A Comprehensive Review, Metals (Basel), Vol.14(11), 1260, DOI: doi.org/10.3390/met14111260. 

Yuik Eom, Richard Diaz Alorro, Jonah Gamutan, and Aleksandar N. Nikoloski, 2023, Lithium extraction from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) using mechanochemical processing: a comprehensive review, Resources Recycling, Vol.32(5), 3-17, DOI: doi.org/10.7844/kirr.2023.32.5.3. 

Shane M. Wilson, Rorie Gilligan and Aleksandar Nikoloski, 2024, Extraction and Purification of Lithium from Minerals, book chapter published in Kirk‐Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, pp. 1-18, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, DOI: doi.org/10.1002/0471238961.koe00066. 

Marco Amores, Antonela Gallastegui, Elena Gabirondo, Luke A. O’Dell, Kwang Loon Ang, Aleksandar N. Nikoloski, David Mecerreyes, Robert Kerr, Cristina Pozo-Gonzalo, 2026, Rational Design of Lithium Sulphonamide Polymeric Cation Exchange Membranes for LiOH Production by Electro-Electrodialysis, Advanced Energy & Sustainability Research, Vol. 7, e202500481, DOI: doi.org/10.1002/aesr.202500481. 

Marco Amores, Kwang Loon Ang, Aleks Nikoloski and Cristina Pozo-Gonzalo, 2024, Electrodialysis as a Method for LiOH Production: Cell Configurations and Ion-Exchange Membranes, Advanced Sustainable Systems, 2400402, DOI: doi.org/10.1002/adsu.202400402.