Lithium brine deposit

C. Extraction. Lithium occurs in the form of several minerals and in brines and brine deposits. A brine is water with sizable concentrations of halide salts. 

Lithium is presently being recovered from brines of Searles Lake, in California, and from those in Nevada. Large deposits of quadramene are found in North Carolina. The metal is produced electrolytically from the fused chloride. Lithium is silvery in appearance, much like Na and K, other members of the alkali metal series. It reacts with water, but not as vigorously as sodium. Lithium imparts a beautiful crimson color to a flame, but when the metal burns strongly, the flame is a dazzling white. 

A third source of brine is found underground. Underground brines ate primarily the result of ancient terminal lakes that have dried up and left brine entrained in their salt beds. These deposits may be completely underground or start at the surface. Some of these beds ate hundreds of meters thick. The salt bed at the Salat de Atacama in Chile is over 300 m thick. Its bed is impregnated with brine that is being pumped to solar ponds and serves as feedstock to produce lithium chloride, potassium chloride, and magnesium chloride. Seades Lake in California is a similar ancient terminal lake. Brine from its deposit is processed to recover soda ash, borax, sodium sulfate, potassium chloride, and potassium sulfate. 

The main metals in brines throughout the world are sodium, magnesium, calcium, and potassium. Other metals, such as lithium and boron, are found in lesser amounts. The main nonmetals ate chloride, sulfate, and carbonate, with nitrate occurring in a few isolated areas. A significant fraction of sodium nitrate and potassium nitrate comes from these isolated deposits. Other nonmetals produced from brine ate bromine and iodine. 

Composition of lithium-containing natural waters and brines of the world s major deposits... 

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