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{{About|the chemical element|the use of lithium as a medication|Lithium (medication)|other uses|Lithium (disambiguation)}}
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{{Infobox lithium}}

'''Lithium''' (from {{langx|grc|λίθος}}, {{tlit|grc|líthos}}, {{gloss|stone}}) is a [[chemical element]]; it has [[chemical symbol|symbol]] '''Li''' and [[atomic number]]&nbsp;3. It is a soft, silvery-white [[alkali metal]]. Under [[standard temperature and pressure|standard conditions]], it is the least dense metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly [[reactivity (chemistry)|reactive]] and flammable, and must be stored in vacuum, inert atmosphere, or inert liquid such as purified [[kerosene]]<ref>Spellman, F. R. (2023). ''The Science of Lithium''. CRC Press.</ref> or mineral oil. It exhibits a metallic [[luster (mineralogy)|luster]] when pure, but quickly [[corrosion|corrodes]] in air to a dull silvery gray, then black tarnish. It does not occur freely in nature, but occurs mainly as [[pegmatite|pegmatitic]] minerals, which were once the main source of lithium. Due to its solubility as an ion, it is present in ocean water and is commonly obtained from [[brine]]s. Lithium metal is isolated [[electrolysis|electrolytically]] from a mixture of [[lithium chloride]] and [[potassium chloride]].

The [[Atomic nucleus|nucleus]] of the lithium atom verges on instability, since the two stable lithium [[isotope]]s found in nature have among the lowest [[Nuclear binding energy|binding energies]] per [[nucleon]] of all stable [[nuclide]]s. Because of its relative nuclear instability, lithium is less common in the [[Solar System]] than 28 of the first 34 chemical elements even though its nuclei are very light: it is an exception to the trend that heavier nuclei are less common.<ref name="Lodders2003">Numerical data from: {{cite journal |doi=10.1086/375492 |last=Lodders |first=Katharina |author-link=Katharina Lodders |date=10 July 2003 |title=Solar System Abundances and Condensation Temperatures of the Elements |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |publisher=The American Astronomical Society |volume=591 |issue=2 |pages=1220–1247 |url=http://weft.astro.washington.edu/courses/astro557/LODDERS.pdf |bibcode=2003ApJ...591.1220L |s2cid=42498829 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107043527/http://weft.astro.washington.edu/courses/astro557/LODDERS.pdf |archive-date=7 November 2015 |access-date=1 September 2015}} Graphed at [[:File:SolarSystemAbundances.jpg]]</ref> For related reasons, lithium has important uses in [[nuclear physics]]. The [[Nuclear transmutation|transmutation]] of lithium atoms to [[helium]] in 1932 was the first fully human-made [[nuclear reaction]], and [[lithium deuteride]] serves as a [[nuclear fusion|fusion]] fuel in [[Teller-Ulam design|staged thermonuclear weapons]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160604211457/https://fas.org/nuke/intro/nuke/design.htm Nuclear Weapon Design]. Federation of American Scientists (21 October 1998). fas.org</ref>

Lithium and its compounds have several industrial applications, including heat-resistant glass and [[ceramic]]s, [[lithium grease]] lubricants, flux additives for iron, steel and aluminium production, [[Lithium metal battery|lithium metal batteries]], and [[lithium-ion battery|lithium-ion batteries]]. Batteries alone consume more than three-quarters of lithium production.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-01 |title=Lithium |url=https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/lithium |access-date=2025-06-25 |website=World Nuclear Association |quote=The majority of mined lithium (about three-quarters) is used for batteries.}}</ref>

Lithium is present in biological systems in trace amounts. [[Lithium (medication)|Lithium-based drugs]] are useful as a [[mood stabilizer]] and [[antidepressant]] in the treatment of mental illness such as [[bipolar disorder]].
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== Properties ==
=== Atomic and physical ===
[[File:Limetal.JPG|thumb|upright=0.7|left|Lithium ingots with a thin layer of black nitride tarnish]]
The [[alkali metal]]s are also called the lithium family, after its leading element. Like the other alkali metals (which are [[sodium]] (Na), [[potassium]] (K), [[rubidium]] (Rb), [[caesium]] (Cs), and [[francium]] (Fr)), lithium has a single [[valence electron]] that, in the presence of solvents, is easily released to form Li<sup>+</sup>.<ref name="krebs" /> Because of this, lithium is a good conductor of heat and electricity as well as being chemically reactive, though it is the least reactive of the alkali metals. Lithium's lower reactivity is due to the proximity of its valence electron to its [[atomic nucleus|nucleus]] (the remaining [[Two-electron atom|two electrons]] are in the [[s-orbital|1s orbital]], much lower in energy, and do not participate in chemical bonds).<ref name="krebs" /> Molten lithium is significantly more reactive than its solid form.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Huang |first1=Chuanfu |last2=Kresin |first2=Vitaly V. |date=June 2016 |title=Note: Contamination-free loading of lithium metal into a nozzle source |journal=Review of Scientific Instruments |language=en |volume=87 |issue=6 |page=066105 |doi=10.1063/1.4953918 |pmid=27370506 |issn=0034-6748 |bibcode=2016RScI...87f6105H}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The chemistry of the liquid alkali metals |author=Addison, C. C. |date=1984 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-0-471-90508-0 |location=Chichester [West Sussex] |oclc=10751785}}</ref>

Lithium metal is soft enough to be cut with a knife. It is silvery-white. In air it oxidizes to [[lithium oxide]].<ref name="krebs" /> Its [[melting point]] of {{Cvt|180.50|C|K F|disp=|abbr=unit}}<ref name="pubchemLithium">{{cite web |title=PubChem Element Summary for AtomicNumber 3, Lithium |url=https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/element/Lithium |work=National Center for Biotechnology Information |date=2021 |access-date=10 September 2021 |archive-date=10 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910175321/https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/element/Lithium |url-status=live}}</ref> and its [[boiling point]] of {{Cvt|1342|C|K F|disp=|abbr=unit}}<ref name="pubchemLithium" /> are each the highest of all the alkali metals.

Lithium has the lowest [[density]] (0.534 [[Density#Unit|g/cm<sup>3</sup>]]) of all metals under standard conditions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sicius |first=Hermann |title=Handbook of the Chemical Elements |date=2024 |publisher=Springer Berlin Heidelberg |isbn=978-3-662-68921-9 |location=Berlin, Heidelberg}}</ref> 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]].
[[File:Lithium element.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|Lithium floating in oil]]
Lithium's [[coefficient of thermal expansion]] is twice that of [[aluminium]] and almost four times that of [[iron]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/linear-expansion-coefficients-d_95.html |title=Coefficients of Linear Expansion |publisher=Engineering Toolbox |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130215248/http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/linear-expansion-coefficients-d_95.html |archive-date=30 November 2012 |access-date=9 January 2011}}</ref> Lithium is [[superconductive]] below 400 [[microkelvin|μK]] at standard pressure<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tuoriniemi |first1=Juha |last2=Juntunen-Nurmilaukas |first2=Kirsi |last3=Uusvuori |first3=Johanna |last4=Pentti |first4=Elias |last5=Salmela |first5=Anssi |last6=Sebedash |first6=Alexander |title=Superconductivity in lithium below 0.4 millikelvin at ambient pressure |journal=Nature |volume=447 |issue=7141 |pages=187–9 |year=2007 |pmid=17495921 |doi=10.1038/nature05820 |bibcode=2007Natur.447..187T |s2cid=4430500 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/996565 |access-date=20 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190625233052/https://zenodo.org/record/996565 |archive-date=25 June 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> and at higher temperatures (more than 9 K) at very high pressures (>20 GPa).<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1126/science.1078535 |date=2002 |author=Struzhkin, V. V. |author2=Eremets, M. I. |author3=Gan, W |author4=Mao, H. K. |author5=Hemley, R. J. |title=Superconductivity in dense lithium |volume=298 |issue=5596 |pages=1213–5 |pmid=12386338 |journal=Science |bibcode=2002Sci...298.1213S |s2cid=21030510}}</ref> At temperatures below 70 K, lithium, like sodium, undergoes [[diffusionless transformations|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.<ref name="overhauser">{{Cite journal |first=A. W. |last=Overhauser |title=Crystal Structure of Lithium at 4.2 K |doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.53.64 |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=64–65 |date=1984 |journal=Physical Review Letters |bibcode=1984PhRvL..53...64O}}</ref> Multiple allotropic forms have been identified for lithium at high pressures.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schwarz |first1=Ulrich |title=Metallic high-pressure modifications of main group elements |journal=Zeitschrift für Kristallographie |volume=219 |pages=376–390 |date=2004 |doi=10.1524/zkri.219.6.376.34637 |issue=6–2004 |bibcode=2004ZK....219..376S |s2cid=56006683}}</ref>

Lithium has a mass [[specific heat capacity]] of 3.58 kilojoules per kilogram-kelvin, the highest of all solids.<ref name="CRC">{{Cite book |author=Hammond, C. R. |title=The Elements, in Handbook of Chemistry and Physics |date=2000 |publisher=CRC press |isbn=978-0-8493-0481-1 |edition=81st}}{{page needed|date=December 2016}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140823211840/http://hilltop.bradley.edu/~spost/THERMO/solidcp.pdf SPECIFIC HEAT OF SOLIDS]. bradley.edu</ref> Because of this, lithium metal is often used in [[coolant]]s for [[heat transfer]] applications.<ref name="CRC" />

=== Isotopes ===
{{Main|Isotopes of lithium}}
Naturally occurring lithium is composed of two stable [[isotope]]s, <sup>6</sup>Li and <sup>7</sup>Li, the latter being the more abundant (95.15% [[natural abundance]]).{{CIAAW2013}}{{NUBASE2020|ref}} Both natural isotopes have anomalously low [[nuclear binding energy]] per nucleon (compared to the neighboring elements on the [[Periodic chart of the elements|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 [[hydrogen-1]], [[deuterium]] and [[helium-3]].<ref name="bind">[[:File:Binding energy curve - common isotopes.svg]] shows binding energies of stable nuclides graphically; the source of the data-set is given in the figure background.</ref> As a result of this, though very light in atomic weight, lithium is less common in the Solar System than 28 of the first 34 chemical elements.<ref name="Lodders2003" /> Seven [[radioisotope]]s have been characterized, the most stable being <sup>8</sup>Li with a [[half-life]] of 838 [[millisecond|ms]] and <sup>9</sup>Li with a half-life of 178&nbsp;ms. All of the remaining [[radioactive]] isotopes have half-lives that are shorter than 8.6&nbsp;ms. The shortest-lived isotope of lithium is <sup>4</sup>Li, which decays through [[proton emission]] and has a half-life of 7.6 × 10<sup>−23</sup> s.<ref name="nuclidetable">{{cite web |url=http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/chart/reCenter.jsp?z=104&n=158 |title=Interactive Chart of Nuclides |publisher=Brookhaven National Laboratory |author=Sonzogni, Alejandro |location=National Nuclear Data Center |access-date=6 June 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070723192118/http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/chart/reCenter.jsp?z=104&n=158 |archive-date=23 July 2007}}</ref> The <sup>6</sup>Li isotope is one of only [[Stable nuclide#Odd and even proton and neutron count|five stable nuclides]] to have both an odd number of protons and an odd number of neutrons, the other four stable [[Even and odd atomic nuclei#Odd proton, odd neutron|odd-odd nuclides]] being [[deuterium|hydrogen-2]], [[boron-10]], [[nitrogen-14]], and [[tantalum-180m]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Various |editor=Lide, David R. |year=2002 |title=Handbook of Chemistry & Physics |edition=88th |publisher=CRC |url=http://www.hbcpnetbase.com/ |access-date=2008-05-23 |isbn=978-0-8493-0486-6 |oclc=179976746 |archive-date=24 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170724011402/http://www.hbcpnetbase.com/}}</ref>

Lithium isotopes fractionate substantially during a wide variety of natural processes,<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2004 |first1=H. M. |last1=Seitz |first2=G. P. |last2=Brey |first3=Y. |last3=Lahaye |first4=S. |last4=Durali |first5=S. |last5=Weyer |title=Lithium isotopic signatures of peridotite xenoliths and isotopic fractionation at high temperature between olivine and pyroxenes |journal=Chemical Geology |volume=212 |issue=1–2 |doi=10.1016/j.chemgeo.2004.08.009 |pages=163–177 |bibcode=2004ChGeo.212..163S}}</ref> including mineral formation (chemical precipitation), [[metabolism]], and [[ion exchange]]. Lithium ions substitute for [[magnesium]] and iron in octahedral sites in [[clay]] minerals, where <sup>6</sup>Li is preferred to <sup>7</sup>Li, resulting in enrichment of the light isotope in processes of hyperfiltration and rock alteration. The exotic <sup>11</sup>Li is known to exhibit a [[Halo nucleus|neutron halo]], with 2 neutrons orbiting around its nucleus of 3 protons and 6 neutrons. The process known as [[atomic vapor laser isotope separation|laser isotope separation]] can be used to separate lithium isotopes, in particular <sup>7</sup>Li from <sup>6</sup>Li.<ref>{{Cite book |page=330 |title=Tunable Laser Applications |author=Duarte, F. J |author-link=F. J. Duarte |publisher=CRC Press |date=2009 |isbn=978-1-4200-6009-6}}</ref>

Nuclear weapons manufacture and other nuclear physics applications are a major source of artificial lithium fractionation, with the light isotope <sup>6</sup>Li being retained by industry and military stockpiles to such an extent that it has caused slight but measurable change in the <sup>6</sup>Li to <sup>7</sup>Li 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.<ref name="Coplen2002">{{cite journal |doi=10.1351/pac200274101987 |title=Isotope-abundance variations of selected elements (IUPAC Technical Report) |date=2002 |last1=Coplen |first1=T. B. |last2=Bohlke |first2=J. K. |last3=De Bievre |first3=P. |last4=Ding |first4=T. |last5=Holden |first5=N. E. |last6=Hopple |first6=J. A. |last7=Krouse |first7=H. R. |last8=Lamberty |first8=A. |last9=Peiser |first9=H. S.|last10=N.N. |journal=Pure and Applied Chemistry |volume=74 |issue=10 |page=1987 |display-authors=9 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Both stable isotopes of lithium can be [[laser cooling|laser cooled]] and were used to produce the first quantum degenerate [[Bose–Einstein condensate|Bose]]–[[Fermionic condensate|Fermi]] mixture.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Truscott |first1=Andrew G. |last2=Strecker |first2=Kevin E. |last3=McAlexander |first3=William I. |last4=Partridge |first4=Guthrie B. |last5=Hulet |first5=Randall G. |date=2001-03-30 |title=Observation of Fermi Pressure in a Gas of Trapped Atoms |journal=Science |language=en |volume=291 |issue=5513 |pages=2570–2572 |doi=10.1126/science.1059318 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=11283362 |bibcode=2001Sci...291.2570T |s2cid=31126288}}</ref>

== Occurrence ==

=== Astronomical ===
[[File:Nova Centauri 2013 ESO.jpg|thumb| [[Nova Centauri 2013]], the place lithium from a stellar nova was detected<ref>{{cite web |title=First Detection of Lithium from an Exploding Star |url=http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1531/ |access-date=29 July 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150801001700/http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1531/ |archive-date=1 August 2015}}</ref>]]
{{Main|Nucleosynthesis|Stellar nucleosynthesis|Lithium burning}}

Lithium-7 was created in nuclear reactions very early in the history of the universe, in a process called [[Big Bang nucleosynthesis]]. The relative amount of lithium was small compared to isotopes of hydrogen and helium. The only other element created was beryllium-7 which decayed into lithium-7. Measured lithium abundance does not match the nucleosynthesis model well, an issue called "[[cosmological lithium problem]];" whether this is due to issues in the difficult experimental measurements or in aspects of the theory is not known. Measurements of primordial lithium abundance are complicated because lithium-7 can be created and destroyed in cosmic ray, [[classical nova]], and [[supernova]] reactions, and inside stars. The only known mechanism to produce lithium-6 is via cosmic-ray interactions.<ref name=Cyburt-2016>{{Cite journal |last1=Cyburt |first1=Richard H. |last2=Fields |first2=Brian D. |last3=Olive |first3=Keith A. |last4=Yeh |first4=Tsung-Han |date=February 23, 2016 |title=Big bang nucleosynthesis: Present status |url=https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/RevModPhys.88.015004 |journal=Reviews of Modern Physics |language=en |volume=88 |issue=1 |article-number=015004 |doi=10.1103/RevModPhys.88.015004 |arxiv=1505.01076 |bibcode=2016RvMP...88a5004C |issn=0034-6861}}</ref>

Lithium is also found in [[brown dwarf]] substellar objects. 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 them.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.universetoday.com/24593/brown-dwarf/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110225032434/http://www.universetoday.com/24593/brown-dwarf/ |archive-date=25 February 2011 |title=Brown Dwarf |access-date=17 November 2009 |last=Cain |first=Fraser |work=Universe Today}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www-int.stsci.edu/~inr/ldwarf3.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521055905/http://www-int.stsci.edu/~inr/ldwarf3.html |archive-date=21 May 2013 |title=L Dwarf Classification |access-date=6 March 2013 |first=Neill |last=Reid |date=10 March 2002}}</ref> Certain [[red giant]] stars can also contain a high concentration of lithium. Many different causes have been proposed for this lithium, including pulling lithium from companion stars.<ref name="emsley" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sayeed |first1=Maryum |last2=Ness |first2=Melissa K. |last3=Montet |first3=Benjamin T. |last4=Cantiello |first4=Matteo |last5=Casey |first5=Andrew R. |last6=Buder |first6=Sven |last7=Bedell |first7=Megan |last8=Breivik |first8=Katelyn |last9=Metzger |first9=Brian D. |last10=Martell |first10=Sarah L. |last11=McGee-Gold |first11=Leah |date=March 1, 2024 |title=Many Roads Lead to Lithium: Formation Pathways For Lithium-rich Red Giants |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=964 |issue=1 |page=42 |doi=10.3847/1538-4357/ad1936 |doi-access=free |arxiv=2306.03323 |bibcode=2024ApJ...964...42S |issn=0004-637X}}</ref>

=== Terrestrial ===
[[File:Elemental abundances.svg|thumb|upright=1.6|Lithium is about as common as [[chlorine]] in the Earth's upper continental [[crust (geology)|crust]], on a per-atom basis.]]
{{See also|:Category:Lithium compounds|l1=Lithium compounds|:Category:Lithium minerals|l2=Lithium minerals}}
Although lithium is widely distributed on Earth, it does not naturally occur in elemental form due to its high reactivity.<ref name="krebs">{{Cite book |last=Krebs |first=Robert E. |date=2006 |title=The History and Use of Our Earth's Chemical Elements: A Reference Guide |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, Conn. |isbn=978-0-313-33438-2}}</ref> 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),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ioes.saga-u.ac.jp/ioes-study/li/lithium/occurence.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502142924/http://www.ioes.saga-u.ac.jp/ioes-study/li/lithium/occurence.html |archive-date=2 May 2009 |title=Lithium Occurrence |access-date=13 March 2009 |publisher=Institute of Ocean Energy, Saga University, Japan}}</ref><ref name="enc" /> or 25 [[micromolar]];<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Extraction of metals from sea water |date=1984 |publisher=Springer Berlin Heidelberg |doi=10.1007/3-540-13534-0_3 |volume=124 |pages=91–133 |series=Topics in Current Chemistry |last1=Schwochau |first1=Klaus |title=Inorganic Chemistry |isbn=978-3-540-13534-0 |s2cid=93866412}}</ref> higher concentrations approaching 7 ppm are found near [[hydrothermal vents]].<ref name="enc" />

Estimates for the Earth's [[crust (geology)|crustal]] content range from 20 to 70 ppm by weight.<ref name="kamienski" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/lithium-chemical-element |title=lithium |website=Britannica encyclopedia |access-date=4 August 2020 |archive-date=5 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805231540/https://www.britannica.com/science/lithium-chemical-element |url-status=live}}</ref> In keeping with its name, lithium forms a minor part of [[igneous rock]]s, with the largest concentrations in [[granite]]s. Granitic [[pegmatite]]s also provide the greatest abundance of lithium-containing minerals, with [[spodumene]] and [[petalite]] being the most commercially viable sources.<ref name="kamienski" /> Another significant mineral of lithium is [[lepidolite]] which is now an obsolete name for a series formed by polylithionite and trilithionite.<ref>{{cite book |title=Shriver & Atkins' Inorganic Chemistry |edition=5th |publisher=W. H. Freeman and Company |place=New York |date=2010 |page=296 |isbn=978-0-19-923617-6 |author=Atkins, Peter}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mindat.org/ |title=Mindat.org – Mines, Minerals and More |website=www.mindat.org |access-date=4 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110422205859/http://www.mindat.org/ |archive-date=22 April 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Another source for lithium is [[hectorite]] clay, the only active development of which is through the Western Lithium Corporation in the United States.<ref>{{Cite journal |author=Moores, S. |title=Between a rock and a salt lake |journal=Industrial Minerals |date=June 2007 |page=58 |volume=477}}</ref> At 20&nbsp;mg lithium per kg of Earth's crust,<ref>Taylor, S. R.; McLennan, S. M.; The continental crust: Its composition and evolution, Blackwell Sci. Publ., Oxford, 330 pp. (1985). Cited in [[Abundances of the elements (data page)]]</ref> lithium is the 31st most abundant element.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Emsley |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j-Xu07p3cKwC&dq=%2231st+most+abundant+element%22&pg=PA238 |title=Nature's Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements |date=2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-850340-8 |language=en}}</ref>

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 [[Ore grade|grade]]."<ref>Garrett, Donald (2004) ''Handbook of Lithium and Natural Calcium'', Academic Press, cited in ''[http://www.meridian-int-res.com/Projects/Lithium_Microscope.pdf The Trouble with Lithium 2] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714074508/http://www.meridian-int-res.com/Projects/Lithium_Microscope.pdf |date=14 July 2011 }}'', Meridian International Research (2008)</ref>

Chile is estimated (2020) to have the largest reserves by far (9.2 million tonnes),<ref name="uslit" /> and Australia the highest annual production (40,000 tonnes).<ref name="uslit" /> One of the largest ''reserve bases''<ref group=note name=res>[https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/2011/mcsapp2011.pdf Appendixes] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106013449/http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/2011/mcsapp2011.pdf |date=6 November 2011 }}. 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)."</ref> of lithium is in the [[Salar de Uyuni]] area of Bolivia, which has 5.4 million tonnes. Other major suppliers include Argentina and China.<ref name="minerals.usgs.gov">{{citation |title=Lithium Statistics and Information |date=2018 |url=https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/lithium/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303175050/http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/lithium/ |publisher=U.S. Geological Survey |access-date=25 July 2002 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="meridian">{{cite web |url=http://www.meridian-int-res.com/Projects/Lithium_Microscope.pdf |title=The Trouble with Lithium 2 |work=Meridian International Research |date=2008 |access-date=29 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714074508/http://www.meridian-int-res.com/Projects/Lithium_Microscope.pdf |archive-date=14 July 2011}}</ref> As of 2015, the [[Czech Geological Survey]] considered the entire [[Ore Mountains]] in the Czech Republic as lithium province. Five deposits are registered, one near {{ill|Cínovec|cs|Cínovec (Dubí)}} is considered as a potentially economical deposit, with 160 000 tonnes of lithium.<ref>{{cite book |author=Czech Geological Survey |title=Mineral Commodity Summaries of the Czech Republic 2015 |url=http://www.geology.cz/extranet-eng/publications/online/mineral-commodity-summaries/mineral_comodity_summaries_2015.pdf |location=Prague |publisher=Czech Geological Survey |page=373 |date=October 2015 |isbn=978-80-7075-904-2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106015520/http://www.geology.cz/extranet-eng/publications/online/mineral-commodity-summaries/mineral_comodity_summaries_2015.pdf |archive-date=6 January 2017 |author-link=Czech Geological Survey}}</ref> In December 2019, Finnish mining company Keliber Oy reported its Rapasaari lithium deposit has estimated proven and probable ore reserves of 5.280 million tonnes.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kitco.com/news/2019-12-06/Ore-Reserve-grows-its-Finland-lithium-deposit-by-50.html |title=Ore Reserve grows its Finland lithium deposit by 50% |work=Kitco News |date=2019 |access-date=10 December 2019 |archive-date=10 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210073525/https://www.kitco.com/news/2019-12-06/Ore-Reserve-grows-its-Finland-lithium-deposit-by-50.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

In June 2010, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that American geologists were conducting ground surveys on [[Dry lake|dry]] [[salt lake]]s in western [[Afghanistan]] believing that large deposits of lithium are located there.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/world/asia/14minerals.html?pagewanted=1&hp |title=U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan |access-date=13 June 2010 |work=The New York Times |first=James |last=Risen |date=13 June 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100617204210/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/world/asia/14minerals.html?pagewanted=1&hp |archive-date=17 June 2010}}</ref> These estimates are "based principally on old data, which was gathered mainly by the [[Soviet Union|Soviets]] during their [[Soviet occupation of Afghanistan|occupation of Afghanistan]] from 1979–1989".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article7149696.ece |location=London |work=The Times |title=Taleban zones mineral riches may rival Saudi Arabia says Pentagon |first1=Jeremy |last1=Page |first2=Michael |last2=Evans |date=15 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514140029/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article7149696.ece |archive-date=14 May 2011}}</ref> The [[The Pentagon|Department of Defense]] estimated the lithium reserves in Afghanistan to amount to the ones in Bolivia and dubbed it as a potential "Saudi-Arabia of lithium".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hosp |first=Gerald |title=Afghanistan: die konfliktreichen Bodenschätze |url=https://www.nzz.ch/wirtschaft/afghanistan-die-konfliktreichen-bodenschaetze-ld.1642056 |access-date=2021-09-01 |website=[[Neue Zürcher Zeitung]] |date=30 August 2021 |language=de |archive-date=8 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908222650/https://www.nzz.ch/wirtschaft/afghanistan-die-konfliktreichen-bodenschaetze-ld.1642056?reduced=true |url-status=live}}</ref> In [[Cornwall]], England, the presence of brine rich in lithium was well known due to the region's historic [[Mining in Cornwall and Devon|mining industry]], and private investors have conducted tests to investigate potential lithium extraction in this area.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bliss |first1=Dominic |title=National Geographic |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/science-and-technology/2021/05/in-cornwall-ruinous-tin-mines-are-yielding-battery-grade-lithium-heres-what-that-could-mean |website=In Cornwall, ruinous tin and copper mines are yielding battery-grade lithium. Here's what that means. |access-date=June 13, 2021 |date=May 28, 2021 |archive-date=13 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613173804/https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/science-and-technology/2021/05/in-cornwall-ruinous-tin-mines-are-yielding-battery-grade-lithium-heres-what-that-could-mean}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Cornwall lithium deposits 'globally significant' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cornwall-54188071 |access-date=June 13, 2021 |agency=BBC |date=September 17, 2020 |archive-date=13 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613173803/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cornwall-54188071 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Biological ===
{{See also|Potassium in biology|Sodium in biology|Soil salinity}}
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.<ref name="enc" /> Marine organisms tend to bioaccumulate lithium more than terrestrial organisms.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chassard-Bouchaud |first1=C. |last2=Galle |first2=P. |last3=Escaig |first3=F. |last4=Miyawaki |first4=M. |title=Bioaccumulation of lithium by marine organisms in European, American, and Asian coastal zones: microanalytic study using secondary ion emission |journal=Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, Série III |volume=299 |issue=18 |pages=719–24 |date=1984 |pmid=6440674}}</ref> Whether lithium has a physiological role in any of these organisms is unknown.<ref name="enc">{{cite web |url=http://www.enclabs.com/lithium.html |access-date=15 October 2010 |title=Some Facts about Lithium |publisher=ENC Labs |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710191644/http://www.enclabs.com/lithium.html |archive-date=10 July 2011}}</ref>
Lithium [[Composition of the human body|concentrations in human tissue]] averages about 24 [[Parts per billion|ppb]] (4 ppb in [[blood]], and 1.3 [[Parts per million|ppm]] in [[bone]]).<ref name="Emsley2011">{{cite book |last=Emsley |first=John |author-link=John Emsley |title=Nature's Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2EfYXzwPo3UC&pg=PA290 |access-date=17 June 2016 |date=25 August 2011 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-960563-7 |pages=290–298 |archive-date=26 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230826192732/https://books.google.com/books?id=2EfYXzwPo3UC&pg=PA290 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Lithium is easily absorbed by [[plant]]s<ref name="Emsley2011" /> and lithium concentration in plant tissue is typically around 1 [[Part per million|ppm]].<ref name="Lithium and Cell Physiology 1990 Ch. 3 Lithium in Plants" /> Some plant [[Family (taxonomy)|families]] [[Bioaccumulation|bioaccumulate]] more lithium than others.<ref name="Lithium and Cell Physiology 1990 Ch. 3 Lithium in Plants" /> [[Dry weight]] lithium concentrations for members of the [[Family (taxonomy)|family]] [[Solanaceae]] (which includes [[potato]]es and [[tomato]]es), for instance, can be as high as 30 ppm while this can be as low as 0.05 ppb for [[Corn (grain)|corn grains]].<ref name="Emsley2011" />
Studies of lithium concentrations in mineral-rich soil give ranges between around 0.1 and 50−100 [[Parts per million|ppm]], with some concentrations as high as 100−400 ppm, although it is unlikely that all of it is available for uptake by [[plant]]s.<ref name="Lithium and Cell Physiology 1990 Ch. 3 Lithium in Plants">{{cite book |editor-last=Bach |editor-first=Ricardo O. |editor-last2=Gallicchio |editor-first2=Vincent S. |title=Lithium and Cell Physiology |publisher=Springer New York |publication-place=New York, NY |year=1990 |isbn=978-1-4612-7967-9 |doi=10.1007/978-1-4612-3324-4 |pages=25–46 |s2cid=44374126}}</ref>
Lithium accumulation does not appear to affect the [[essential nutrient]] composition of plants.<ref name="Lithium and Cell Physiology 1990 Ch. 3 Lithium in Plants" /> Tolerance to lithium varies by plant species and typically parallels [[Halotolerance|sodium tolerance]]; [[maize]] and [[Rhodes grass]], for example, are highly tolerant to lithium injury while [[avocado]] and [[soybean]] are very sensitive.<ref name="Lithium and Cell Physiology 1990 Ch. 3 Lithium in Plants" /> Similarly, lithium at concentrations of 5 ppm reduces [[seed germination]] in some species (e.g. [[Oryza sativa|Asian rice]] and [[chickpea]]) but not in others (e.g. [[barley]] and [[wheat]]).<ref name="Lithium and Cell Physiology 1990 Ch. 3 Lithium in Plants" />

Many of lithium's major biological effects can be explained by its competition with other ions.<ref name="Jakobsson Argüello-Miranda Chiu Fazal pp. 587–604">{{cite journal |last1=Jakobsson |first1=Eric |last2=Argüello-Miranda |first2=Orlando |last3=Chiu |first3=See-Wing |last4=Fazal |first4=Zeeshan |last5=Kruczek |first5=James |last6=Nunez-Corrales |first6=Santiago |last7=Pandit |first7=Sagar |last8=Pritchet |first8=Laura |title=Towards a Unified Understanding of Lithium Action in Basic Biology and its Significance for Applied Biology |journal=[[The Journal of Membrane Biology]] |publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC |volume=250 |issue=6 |date=2017-11-10 |issn=0022-2631 |doi=10.1007/s00232-017-9998-2 |pmid=29127487 |pages=587–604 |pmc=5696506}}</ref>
The [[Monovalent ion|monovalent]] lithium [[Cation|ion]] {{chem|Li|+}} competes with other ions such as [[sodium]] (immediately below lithium on the [[periodic table]]), which like lithium is also a monovalent [[alkali metal]].
Lithium also competes with [[Bivalent (chemistry)|bivalent]] [[magnesium]] ions, whose [[ionic radius]] (86 [[Picometre|pm]]) is approximately that of the lithium ion<ref name="Jakobsson Argüello-Miranda Chiu Fazal pp. 587–604" /> (90 pm).
Mechanisms that transport sodium across cellular membranes also transport lithium.
For instance, [[sodium channel]]s (both [[Voltage-gated sodium channel|voltage-gated]] and [[Epithelial sodium channel|epithelial]]) are particularly major pathways of entry for lithium.<ref name="Jakobsson Argüello-Miranda Chiu Fazal pp. 587–604" />
Lithium ions can also [[permeate]] through [[ligand-gated ion channel]]s as well as cross both [[Nuclear membrane|nuclear]] and [[Mitochondrion|mitochondrial]] [[membrane]]s.<ref name="Jakobsson Argüello-Miranda Chiu Fazal pp. 587–604" />
Like sodium, lithium can enter and partially block (although not [[permeate]]) [[potassium channel]]s and [[calcium channel]]s.<ref name="Jakobsson Argüello-Miranda Chiu Fazal pp. 587–604" />

The biological effects of lithium are many and varied but its [[Mechanism of action|mechanisms of action]] are only partially understood.<ref name="Alda pp. 661–670">{{cite journal |last=Alda |first=M |title=Lithium in the treatment of bipolar disorder: pharmacology and pharmacogenetics |journal=[[Molecular Psychiatry]] |publisher=[[Nature Publishing Group]] |volume=20 |issue=6 |date=17 February 2015 |issn=1359-4184 |doi=10.1038/mp.2015.4 |pages=661–670 |pmid=25687772 |pmc=5125816}}</ref>
For instance, studies of [[Lithium (medication)|lithium-treated]] patients with [[bipolar disorder]] show that, among many other effects, lithium partially reverses [[telomere]] [[Telomere shortening|shortening]] in these patients and also increases mitochondrial function, although how lithium produces these [[pharmacological effect]]s is not understood.<ref name="Alda pp. 661–670" /><ref name="Martinsson Wei Xu Melas 2013 pp. e261–e261">{{cite journal |last1=Martinsson |first1=L |last2=Wei |first2=Y |last3=Xu |first3=D |last4=Melas |first4=P A |last5=Mathé |first5=A A |last6=Schalling |first6=M |last7=Lavebratt |first7=C |last8=Backlund |first8=L |title=Long-term lithium treatment in bipolar disorder is associated with longer leukocyte telomeres |journal=[[Translational Psychiatry]] |publisher=[[Nature Publishing Group]] |volume=3 |issue=5 |year=2013 |issn=2158-3188 |doi=10.1038/tp.2013.37 |pages=e261– |pmid=23695236 |pmc=3669924}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Arfwedson Johan A.jpg|thumb|Johan August Arfwedson is credited with the discovery of lithium in 1817.]]
[[Petalite]] (LiAlSi<sub>4</sub>O<sub>10</sub>) 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|Utö]], Sweden.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/29658#page/256/mode/1up |page=239 |title=Des caractères et des propriétés de plusieurs nouveaux minérauxde Suède et de Norwège, avec quelques observations chimiques faites sur ces substances |last=D'Andraba |author-link=José Bonifácio de Andrada |journal=Journal de Physique, de Chimie, d'Histoire Naturelle, et des Arts |volume=51 |date=1800 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713145045/http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/29658#page/256/mode/1up |archive-date=13 July 2015}}</ref><ref name="mindat">{{cite web |url=http://www.mindat.org/min-3171.html |title=Petalite Mineral Information |access-date=10 August 2009 |publisher=Mindat.org |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216020902/http://www.mindat.org/min-3171.html |archive-date=16 February 2009}}</ref><ref name="webelementshistory">{{cite web |url=http://www.webelements.com/lithium/history.html |title=Lithium:Historical information |access-date=10 August 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091016023617/http://www.webelements.com/lithium/history.html |archive-date=16 October 2009}}</ref><ref name="discovery">{{Cite book |title=Discovery of the Elements |last=Weeks |first=Mary |date=2003 |page=124 |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |location=Whitefish, Montana, United States |isbn=978-0-7661-3872-8 |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=SJIk9BPdNWcC}} |access-date=10 August 2009}}{{dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> However, it was not until 1817 that [[Johan August Arfwedson]], then working in the laboratory of the chemist [[Jöns Jakob Berzelius]], [[discovery of the chemical elements|detected]] the presence of a new element while analyzing petalite ore.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Berzelius |date=1817 |title=Ein neues mineralisches Alkali und ein neues Metall |trans-title=A new mineral alkali and a new metal |journal=Journal für Chemie und Physik |volume=21 |pages=44–48 |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=kAsAAAAAMAAJ |page=PA44}} |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161203044634/https://books.google.com/books?id=kAsAAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA44 |archive-date=3 December 2016}} From p. 45: ''"Herr ''August Arfwedson'', ein junger sehr verdienstvoller Chemiker, der seit einem Jahre in meinem Laboratorie arbeitet, fand bei einer Analyse des Petalits von Uto's Eisengrube, einen alkalischen Bestandtheil, … Wir haben es ''Lithion'' genannt, um dadurch auf seine erste Entdeckung im Mineralreich anzuspielen, da die beiden anderen erst in der organischen Natur entdeckt wurden. Sein Radical wird dann Lithium genannt werden."'' (Mr. ''August Arfwedson'', a young, very meritorious chemist, who has worked in my laboratory for a year, found during an analysis of petalite from Uto's iron mine, an alkaline component … We've named it ''lithion'', in order to allude thereby to its first discovery in the mineral realm, since the two others were first discovered in organic nature. Its radical will then be named "lithium".)</ref><ref name="berzelius">{{cite web |url=http://www.chemeddl.org/collections/ptl/ptl/chemists/bios/arfwedson.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101007084500/http://www.chemeddl.org/collections/ptl/ptl/chemists/bios/arfwedson.html |archive-date=7 October 2010 |title=Johan August Arfwedson |access-date=10 August 2009 |work=Periodic Table Live!}}</ref><ref name="uwis">{{cite web |url=http://genchem.chem.wisc.edu/lab/PTL/PTL/BIOS/arfwdson.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080605152857/http://genchem.chem.wisc.edu/lab/PTL/PTL/BIOS/arfwdson.htm |archive-date=5 June 2008 |title=Johan Arfwedson |access-date=10 August 2009}}</ref><ref name="vanderkrogt">{{cite web |publisher=Elementymology & Elements Multidict |title=Lithium |first=Peter |last=van der Krogt |url=http://elements.vanderkrogt.net/element.php?sym=Li |access-date=5 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616005621/http://elements.vanderkrogt.net/element.php?sym=li |archive-date=16 June 2011}}</ref> This element formed compounds similar to those of [[sodium]] and [[potassium]], though its [[lithium carbonate|carbonate]] and [[lithium hydroxide|hydroxide]] were less [[solubility|soluble in water]] and less [[Base (chemistry)|alkaline]].<ref name="compounds">{{cite web |url=http://www.chemguide.co.uk/inorganic/group1/compounds.html |title=Compounds of the Group 1 Elements |access-date=10 August 2009 |last=Clark |first=Jim |date=2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090311150044/http://www.chemguide.co.uk/inorganic/group1/compounds.html |archive-date=11 March 2009}}</ref> 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 new element "lithium".<ref name="krebs" /><ref name="webelementshistory" /><ref name="vanderkrogt" />

Arfwedson later showed that this same element was present in the minerals [[spodumene]] and [[lepidolite]].<ref>See:
* Arfwedson, Aug. (1818) {{Cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=71QrAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA145 |title=Afhandlingar i fysik, kemi och mineralogi |year=1818 |access-date=27 July 2017 |archive-date=25 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171125213610/https://books.google.com/books?id=71QrAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA145 |url-status=bot: unknown}}, ''Afhandlingar i Fysik, Kemi och Mineralogi'', '''6''' : 145–172. (in Swedish)
* Arfwedson, Aug. (1818) [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101076802493;view=1up;seq=105 "Untersuchung einiger bei der Eisen-Grube von Utö vorkommenden Fossilien und von einem darin gefundenen neuen feuerfesten Alkali"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313170552/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101076802493&view=1up&seq=105 |date=13 March 2021 }} (Investigation of some minerals occurring at the iron mines of Utö and of a new refractory alkali found therein), ''Journal für Chemie und Physik'', '''22''' (1) : 93–117. (in German)</ref><ref name="webelementshistory" /> In 1818, [[Christian Gmelin]] was the first to observe that lithium salts give a bright red color to flame.<ref name="webelementshistory" /><ref>{{cite journal |author=Gmelin, C. G. |year=1818 |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=E2OTAAAAIAAJ |page=238}} |title=Von dem Lithon |trans-title=On lithium |journal=Annalen der Physik |volume=59 |issue=7 |pages=238–241 |doi=10.1002/andp.18180590702 |quote=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.) |bibcode=1818AnP....59..229G |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151109122750/https://books.google.com/books?id=E2OTAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA238 |archive-date=9 November 2015}}</ref> However, both Arfwedson and Gmelin tried and failed to isolate the pure element from its salts.<ref name="webelementshistory" /><ref name="vanderkrogt" /><ref name="eote">{{Cite book |date=2004 |title=Encyclopedia of the Elements: Technical Data&nbsp;– History&nbsp;–Processing&nbsp;– Applications |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-3-527-30666-4 |pages=287–300 |author=Enghag, Per}}</ref> 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.<ref name="emsley">{{Cite book |last=Emsley |first=John |title=Nature's Building Blocks |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |date=2001 |isbn=978-0-19-850341-5}}</ref><ref name="eote" /><ref>Brande, William Thomas (1821) ''A Manual of Chemistry'', 2nd ed. London, England: John Murray, vol. 2, {{Cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ERgAAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA57 |title=A manual of chemistry |access-date=13 August 2015 |archive-date=19 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119063555/https://books.google.com/books?id=ERgAAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA57 |url-status=bot: unknown |last1=Brande |first1=William Thomas |year=1821}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |publisher=Royal Institution of Great Britain |journal=The Quarterly Journal of Science and the Arts |volume=5 |title=The Quarterly journal of science and the arts |date=1818 |page=338 |access-date=5 October 2010 |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=D_4WAAAAYAAJ}} |archive-date=13 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313170619/https://books.google.com/books?id=D_4WAAAAYAAJ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.diracdelta.co.uk/science/source/t/i/timeline/source.html |title=Timeline science and engineering |publisher=DiracDelta Science & Engineering Encyclopedia |access-date=18 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205043252/http://www.diracdelta.co.uk/science/source/t/i/timeline/source.html |archive-date=5 December 2008}}</ref> 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&nbsp;g/mol (modern value ~6.94 g/mol).<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/amanualchemistr01macngoog |first1=William Thomas |last1=Brande |first2=William James |last2=MacNeven |title=A manual of chemistry |date=1821 |page=[https://archive.org/details/amanualchemistr01macngoog/page/n207 191] |access-date=8 October 2010 |publisher=Long}}</ref> In 1855, larger quantities of lithium were produced through the electrolysis of [[lithium chloride]] by [[Robert Bunsen]] and [[Augustus Matthiessen]].<ref name="webelementshistory" /><ref>{{cite journal |author=Bunsen, R. |year=1855 |url=http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x002457943;view=1up;seq=517 |title=Darstellung des Lithiums |trans-title=Preparation of lithium |journal=Annalen der Chemie und Pharmacie |volume=94 |pages=107–111 |doi=10.1002/jlac.18550940112 |access-date=13 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106181113/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x002457943;view=1up;seq=517 |archive-date=6 November 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> 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]].<ref name="webelementshistory" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.echeat.com/free-essay/Analysis-of-the-Element-Lithium-29195.aspx |title=Analysis of the Element Lithium |first=Thomas |last=Green |date=11 June 2006 |publisher=echeat |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120421105704/http://www.echeat.com/free-essay/Analysis-of-the-Element-Lithium-29195.aspx |archive-date=21 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=Ua2SVcUBHZgC |page=99}} |page=99 |title=Handbook of Lithium and Natural Calcium Chloride |isbn=978-0-08-047290-4 |last1=Garrett |first1=Donald E. |date=5 April 2004 |publisher=Elsevier |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161203010924/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ua2SVcUBHZgC&pg=PA99 |archive-date=3 December 2016}}</ref>

Australian psychiatrist [[John Cade]] is credited with reintroducing the use of lithium to treat [[mania]] in 1949. [[Mogens Schou]] of Denmark continued Cade's research, starting in the 1950s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Shorter |first=Edward |date=June 2009 |title=The history of lithium therapy |journal=Bipolar Disorders |volume=11 |issue=Suppl 2 |pages=4–9 |doi=10.1111/j.1399-5618.2009.00706.x |issn=1398-5647 |pmc=3712976 |pmid=19538681}}</ref> Throughout the mid-20th century, lithium's mood stabilizing applicability for mania and [[Depression (mood)|depression]] took off in Europe and the United States. As lithium cannot be patented, it was developed as a medicine by academia rather than drug companies.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fountoulakis |first=Konstantinos N. |date=2025-08-20 |title=The Rise of a Legend: Lithium and the Extraordinary Story of Its Discovery  |journal=Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) |volume=18 |issue=8 |page=1230 |doi=10.3390/ph18081230  |doi-access=free|issn=1424-8247 |pmc=12389268 |pmid=40872619}}</ref>

The production and use of lithium underwent several drastic changes in history. The first major application of lithium was in high-temperature [[lithium grease]]s 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 demand for lithium soaps and lubricating greases was supported by several small mining operations, mostly in the US.

The demand for lithium increased dramatically during the [[Cold War]] with the production of [[Nuclear weapon design|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 US became the prime producer of lithium 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.<ref name="Coplen2002" /><ref name="USGSCR1994">{{cite web |url=https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/lithium/450494.pdf |title=Commodity Report 1994: Lithium |publisher=United States Geological Survey |access-date=3 November 2010 |date=1994 |first=Joyce A. |last=Ober |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609113707/http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/lithium/450494.pdf |archive-date=9 June 2010}}</ref> <!--With only 7.5% of lithium-6 this makes ca. 2,200 tonnes of lithium-6.-->

{{multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = 
| width             = 
| footer            = Satellite images of the [[Salar del Hombre Muerto]], [[Argentina]] (left), and [[Salar de Uyuni|Uyuni]], [[Bolivia]] (right), [[Salt pan (geology)|salt flats]] that are rich in lithium. The lithium-rich brine is concentrated by pumping it into [[Salt evaporation pond|solar evaporation ponds]] (visible in both images).
| image1            = Lithium mine, Salar del Hombre Muerto, Argentina.jpg
| width1            = 
| alt1              = alt1
| caption1          = 
| image2            = Lithium mine at Bolivia´s Uyuni Salt Flat, on a CBERS4 MUX yesterday´s image (cropped).jpg
| width2            = 
| alt2              = alt2
| caption2          = 
| total_width       = 400
}}
Lithium is used to decrease the melting temperature of glass and to improve the melting behavior of [[aluminium oxide]] in the [[Hall-Héroult process]].<ref name="DeberitzBoche2003">{{cite journal |last1=Deberitz |first1=Jürgen |last2=Boche |first2=Gernot |title=Lithium und seine Verbindungen – Industrielle, medizinische und wissenschaftliche Bedeutung |journal=Chemie in unserer Zeit |volume=37 |issue=4 |year=2003 |pages=258–266 |doi=10.1002/ciuz.200300264}}</ref><ref name="Bauer1985">{{cite journal |last1=Bauer |first1=Richard |title=Lithium – wie es nicht im Lehrbuch steht |journal=Chemie in unserer Zeit |volume=19 |issue=5 |year=1985 |pages=167–173 |doi=10.1002/ciuz.19850190505}}</ref> 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.<ref name="USGSCR1994" /> In the mid-1990s, several companies started to isolate lithium from [[brine]] which proved to be a less expensive option than underground or 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|Kings Mountain]], North Carolina, closed before the beginning of the 21st century.

The development of lithium-ion batteries increased the demand for lithium and became the dominant use in 2007.<ref name="USGSYB1994">{{cite web |url=https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/lithium/myb1-2007-lithi.pdf |title=Minerals Yearbook 2007: Lithium |publisher=United States Geological Survey |access-date=3 November 2010 |date=1994 |first=Joyce A. |last=Ober |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100717174958/http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/lithium/myb1-2007-lithi.pdf |archive-date=17 July 2010}}</ref> With the surge of lithium demand in batteries in the 2000s, new companies have expanded brine isolation efforts to meet the rising demand.<ref name="IMR">{{Cite book |first=Jessica Elzea |last=Kogel |title=Industrial minerals & rocks: commodities, markets, and uses |isbn=978-0-87335-233-8 |page=599 |chapter-url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=zNicdkuulE4C |page=600}} |chapter=Lithium |date=2006 |publisher=Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration |location=Littleton, Colo. |access-date=6 November 2020 |archive-date=7 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107221728/https://books.google.com/books?id=zNicdkuulE4C&pg=PA600 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=8erDL_DnsgAC |page=339}} |title=Encyclopedia of Chemical Processing and Design: Volume 28&nbsp;– Lactic Acid to Magnesium Supply-Demand Relationships |publisher=M. Dekker |author=McKetta, John J. |date=18 July 2007 |isbn=978-0-8247-2478-8 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528093232/http://books.google.com/books?id=8erDL_DnsgAC&pg=PA339 |archive-date=28 May 2013}}</ref>

== Chemistry ==
{{Main|Category:Lithium compounds}}

{{Redirect|Lithium salt|Lithium salts used in medication|Lithium (medication)}}

=== Of lithium metal ===
Lithium reacts with water easily, but with noticeably less vigor than other alkali metals. The reaction forms [[hydrogen]] gas and [[lithium hydroxide]].<ref name="krebs" /> When placed over a flame, lithium compounds give off a striking crimson color, but when the metal burns strongly, the flame becomes a brilliant silver. Lithium will ignite and burn in oxygen when exposed to water or water vapor. In moist air, lithium rapidly tarnishes to form a black coating of [[lithium hydroxide]] (LiOH and LiOH·H<sub>2</sub>O), [[lithium nitride]] (Li<sub>3</sub>N) and [[lithium carbonate]] (Li<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub>, the result of a secondary reaction between LiOH and [[carbon dioxide|CO<sub>2</sub>]]).<ref name="kamienski" /> Lithium is one of the few metals that react with [[nitrogen]] gas.<ref>{{cite book |page=47 |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=yb9xTj72vNAC |page=47}} |title=The history and use of our earth's chemical elements: a reference guide |author=Krebs, Robert E. |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |date=2006 |isbn=978-0-313-33438-2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160804025424/https://books.google.com/books?id=yb9xTj72vNAC&pg=PA47 |archive-date=4 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Institute, American Geological |author2=Union, American Geophysical |author3=Society, Geochemical |title=Geochemistry international |volume=31 |issue=1–4 |page=115 |date=1 January 1994 |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=77McAQAAIAAJ}} |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604195805/https://books.google.com/books?id=77McAQAAIAAJ |archive-date=4 June 2016 |website=Google Books}}</ref>

Because of its reactivity with water, and especially nitrogen, lithium metal is usually stored in a hydrocarbon sealant, often [[petroleum jelly]]. Although the heavier alkali metals can be stored under [[mineral oil]], lithium is not dense enough to fully submerge itself in these liquids.<ref name="emsley" />

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 N<sub>2</sub>, the formation of an [[lithium oxide|oxide]] ({{chem|Li|2|O}}) and peroxide ({{chem|Li|2|O|2}}) when burnt in O<sub>2</sub>, [[salt (chemistry)|salts]] with similar [[solubility|solubilities]], and thermal instability of the [[carbonate]]s and nitrides.<ref name="kamienski">{{Cite book |first=Conrad W. |last=Kamienski |author2=McDonald, Daniel P. |author3=Stark, Marshall W. |author4=Papcun, John R. |chapter=Lithium and lithium compounds |title=Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |date=2004 |doi=10.1002/0471238961.1209200811011309.a01.pub2 |isbn=978-0-471-23896-6}}</ref><ref name="Greenwood">{{Greenwood&Earnshaw1st|pages=97–99}}</ref> The metal reacts with hydrogen gas at high temperatures to produce [[lithium hydride]] (LiH).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/users/fbeckford/CHM%20120/Lecture%20Notes/Chapter-14.ppt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051104025202/http://www.lyon.edu/webdata/users/fbeckford/CHM%20120/Lecture%20Notes/Chapter-14.ppt |archive-date=4 November 2005 |title=University of Lyon course online (powerpoint) slideshow |access-date=27 July 2008 |author=Beckford, Floyd |quote=definitions:Slides 8–10 (Chapter 14)}}</ref>

Lithium forms a variety of binary and ternary materials by direct reaction with the main group elements. These [[Zintl phase]]s, although highly covalent, can be viewed as salts of polyatomic anions such as Si<sub>4</sub><sup>4-</sup>, P<sub>7</sub><sup>3-</sup>, and Te<sub>5</sub><sup>2-</sup>.  With graphite, lithium forms a variety of [[intercalation compound]]s.<ref name="Greenwood" />

It dissolves in ammonia (and amines) to give [Li(NH<sub>3</sub>)<sub>4</sub>]<sup>+</sup> and the [[solvated electron]].<ref name="Greenwood" />

=== Inorganic compounds ===
Lithium forms salt-like derivatives with all [[halide]]s and pseudohalides. Some examples include the halides [[lithium fluoride|LiF]], [[lithium chloride|LiCl]], [[lithium bromide|LiBr]], [[Lithium iodide|LiI]], as well as the [[pseudohalide]]s and related anions. Lithium carbonate has been described as the most important compound of lithium.<ref name="Greenwood" />  This white solid is the principal product of [[beneficiation]] of lithium ores. It is a precursor to other salts including ceramics and materials for lithium batteries.

The compounds [[Lithium borohydride|{{chem|LiBH|4}}]] and [[Lithium aluminium hydride|{{chem|LiAlH|4}}]] are useful [[reagent]]s.  These salts and many other lithium salts exhibit distinctively high solubility in ethers, in contrast with salts of heavier alkali metals.

In aqueous solution, the [[coordination complex]] [Li(H<sub>2</sub>O)<sub>4</sub>]<sup>+</sup> predominates for many lithium salts. Related complexes are known with amines and ethers.

=== Organic chemistry ===
{{Main|Organolithium reagent}}

[[File:Butyllithium-hexamer-from-xtal-3D-balls-A.png|thumb|right|Hexameric structure of the [[N-Butyllithium|''n''-butyllithium]] fragment in a crystal]]
[[Organolithium compound]]s are numerous and useful.  They are defined by the presence of a [[covalent bond|bond]] between [[carbon]] and lithium. They serve as metal-stabilized [[carbanion]]s, although their solution and solid-state structures are more complex than this simplistic view.<ref>{{Cite book |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=z76sVepirh4C |page=16}} |title=Lithium chemistry: a theoretical and experimental overview |author=Sapse, Anne-Marie |author2=von R. Schleyer, Paul |date=1995 |publisher=Wiley-IEEE |isbn=978-0-471-54930-7 |pages=3–40 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160731221323/https://books.google.com/books?id=z76sVepirh4C&pg=PA16 |archive-date=31 July 2016 |url-status=live |name-list-style=amp}}</ref> Thus, these are extremely powerful [[base (chemistry)|bases]] and [[carbon nucleophile|nucleophiles]]. They have also been applied in asymmetric synthesis in the pharmaceutical industry. For laboratory organic synthesis, many organolithium reagents are commercially available in solution form. These reagents are highly reactive, and are sometimes [[pyrophoricity|pyrophoric]].

Like its inorganic compounds, almost all organic compounds of lithium formally follow the [[duet rule]] (e.g., [[N-Butyllithium|BuLi]], [[Methyllithium|MeLi]]). However, in the absence of coordinating solvents or ligands, organolithium compounds form dimeric, tetrameric, and hexameric clusters (e.g., BuLi is actually [BuLi]<sub>6</sub> and MeLi is actually [MeLi]<sub>4</sub>) which feature multi-center bonding and increase the coordination number around lithium. These clusters are broken down into smaller or monomeric units in the presence of solvents like [[dimethoxyethane]] (DME) or ligands like [[tetramethylethylenediamine]] (TMEDA).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nichols |first1=Michael A. |last2=Williard |first2=Paul G. |date=1993-02-01 |title=Solid-state structures of n-butyllithium-TMEDA, -THF, and -DME complexes |journal=Journal of the American Chemical Society |volume=115 |issue=4 |pages=1568–1572 |doi=10.1021/ja00057a050 |bibcode=1993JAChS.115.1568N |issn=0002-7863}}</ref> As an exception to the duet rule, a two-coordinate lithate complex with four electrons around lithium, [Li(thf)<sub>4</sub>]<sup>+</sup>[((Me<sub>3</sub>Si)<sub>3</sub>C)<sub>2</sub>Li]<sup>–</sup>, has been characterized crystallographically.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Organometallic chemistry: a unified approach. |last=Mehrotra |first=R. C. |year=2009 |publisher=New Age International Pvt |isbn=978-81-224-1258-1 |oclc=946063142}}</ref>

== Production ==
{{See also|List of countries by lithium production}}
{{owidslider
|start        = 2024
|list         = Template:OWID/lithium production#gallery
|location      = commons
|caption      =
|title        =
|language     =
|file         = [[File:lithium production, World, 2024 (cropped).svg|link=|thumb|upright=1.6|Lithium production]]
|startingView = World
}}

{|class="wikitable sortable" style="float:right; margin:5px; text-align:right;"
|+Lithium mine production (2023), reserves and resources in tonnes according to [[United States Geological Survey|USGS]]<ref name="uslit" />
|-
! Country
! data-sort-type="number" | Production
! data-sort-type="number" | Reserves<ref group=note name=res />
! data-sort-type="number" | Resources
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Argentina]]
| 8,630
| 4,000,000
| 23,000,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Lithium mining in Australia|Australia]]
| 91,700
| 7,000,000
| 8,900,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Austria]]
| —
| —
| 60,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Lithium mining in Bolivia|Bolivia]]
| —
| —
| 23,000,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Brazil]]
| 5,260
| 390,000
| 1,300,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Canada]]
| 3,240
| 1,200,000
| 5,700,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Lithium mining in Chile|Chile]]
| 41,400
| 9,300,000
| 11,000,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[China]]
| 35,700
| 3,000,000
| 6,800,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Czech Republic]]
| —
| —
| 1,300,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[DR Congo]]
| —
| —
| 3,000,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Finland]]
| —
| —
| 55,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Germany]]
| —
| —
| 4,000,000{{efn|group=note|A deposit of 43 million tons was discovered in Sachsen-Anhalt in 2025.<!--Don't integrate into the table yet since it's a separate source--><ref name="Tomslee 2025">{{cite news |url=https://m.economictimes.com/news/international/us/43-million-tons-of-lithium-discovered-in-germany-could-transform-european-ev-battery-supply-chain/articleshow/124208076.cms |title=43 million tons of lithium discovered in Germany could transform European EV battery supply chain |work=[[The Economic Times]] |first=Don |last=Tomslee |date=29 September 2025 |access-date=25 November 2025}}</ref>}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Ghana]]
| —
| —
| 200,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[India]]
| —
| —
| 5,900,000<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 February 2023 |title=India finds 5.9 million tonnes lithium deposits in Jammu and Kashmir |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-finds-5-9-million-tonnes-lithium-deposits-in-jammu-and-kashmir-101676000517859.html |website=Hindustan Times |access-date=11 February 2023 |archive-date=10 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210044915/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-finds-5-9-million-tonnes-lithium-deposits-in-jammu-and-kashmir-101676000517859.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=10 February 2023 |title=5.9 million tonnes Lithium deposits found in J&K: Why it's important |website=[[The Times of India]] |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/5-9-million-tonnes-lithium-deposits-found-in-jk-why-its-important/articleshow/97797384.cms |access-date=11 February 2023 |archive-date=10 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210093404/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/5-9-million-tonnes-lithium-deposits-found-in-jk-why-its-important/articleshow/97797384.cms |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Kazakhstan]]
| —
| —
| 45,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Mali]]
| —
| —
| 1,200,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Mexico]]
| —
| —
| 1,700,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Namibia]]
| 2,700
| 14,000
| 230,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Peru]]
| —
| —
| 1,000,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Portugal]]
| 380
| 60,000
| 270,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Russia]]
| —
| —
| 1,000,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Serbia]]
| —
| —
| 1,200,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Spain]]
| —
| —
| 320,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[United States]]
| 870<ref group=note>In 2013</ref>
| 1,800,000
| 14,000,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Zimbabwe]]
| 14,900
| 480,000
| 860,000
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Other countries
| —
| 2,800,000
| —
|- class="sortbottom"
! World total
! 204,000<ref group=note>Excludes U.S. production</ref>
! 30,000,000
! 116,000,000+
|}

Lithium production has greatly increased since the end of [[World War II]]. The main sources of lithium are [[brine]]s and [[ore]]s.

Lithium metal is produced through [[electrolysis]] applied to a mixture of fused 55% [[lithium chloride]] and 45% [[potassium chloride]] at about 450&nbsp;°C.<ref>{{Greenwood&Earnshaw2nd|page=73}}</ref>

Lithium is one of the elements critical in a world running on renewable energy and dependent on batteries. This suggests that lithium will be one of the main objects of [[geopolitical]] competition, but this perspective has also been criticised for underestimating the power of economic incentives for expanded production.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Overland |first=Indra |date=2019-03-01 |title=The geopolitics of renewable energy: Debunking four emerging myths |journal=Energy Research & Social Science |volume=49 |pages=36–40 |doi=10.1016/j.erss.2018.10.018 |issn=2214-6296 |url=https://nupi.brage.unit.no/nupi-xmlui/bitstream/11250/2579292/2/2019%2b-%2bThe%2bgeopolitics%2bof%2brenewable%2benergy%252C%2bdebunking%2bfour%2bemerging%2bmyths.pdf |access-date=25 August 2019 |archive-date=13 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313170552/https://nupi.brage.unit.no/nupi-xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/2579292/2019+-+The+geopolitics+of+renewable+energy%2C+debunking+four+emerging+myths.pdf?sequence=2 |url-status=live |doi-access=free |bibcode=2019ERSS...49...36O}}</ref>

=== Reserves and occurrence ===
[[File:USGS-PP-1802k-K13-y-tickmarks-fixed.png|thumb|right|460px|Scatter plots of lithium grade and tonnage for selected world deposits, as of 2017]]
The small ionic size makes it difficult for lithium to be included in early stages of mineral crystallization. As a result, lithium remains in the molten phases, where it gets enriched, until it gets solidified in the final stages. Such lithium enrichment is responsible for all commercially promising lithium [[ore]] deposits. [[Brines]] (and dry salt) are another important source of Li<sup>+</sup>. Although the number of known lithium-containing deposits and brines is large, most of them are either small or have too low Li<sup>+</sup> concentrations. Thus, only a few appear to be of commercial value.<ref>SGU. Mineralmarknaden, Tema: Litium [in Swedish]. Publication by the Swedish Geological Survey; 2009. ISSN 0283-2038</ref>

The [[US Geological Survey]] (USGS) estimated worldwide identified lithium reserves in 2022 and 2023 to be 26 million and 28 million [[tonne]]s, respectively.<ref name="minerals.usgs.gov" /><ref name="uslit">{{Cite web |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2025/mcs2025-lithium.pdf |title=Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025 |date=31 January 2025 |website=U.S. Geological Survey |access-date=27 February 2025 |archive-date=27 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250227101655/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2025/mcs2025-lithium.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> An accurate estimate of world lithium reserves is difficult.<ref name="gold">{{Cite journal |doi=10.1038/nchem.680 |pmid=20489722 |title=Is lithium the new gold? |journal=Nature Chemistry |volume=2 |issue=6 |page=510 |year=2010 |last1=Tarascon |first1=J. M. |author-link1=Jean-Marie Tarascon |bibcode=2010NatCh...2..510T |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="forbes">{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/toddwoody/2011/10/19/lithium-the-new-california-gold-rush/ |title=Lithium: The New California Gold Rush |last=Woody |first=Todd |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219105058/http://www.forbes.com/sites/toddwoody/2011/10/19/lithium-the-new-california-gold-rush/print/ |archive-date=19 December 2014 |work=Forbes |date=19 October 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> One reason for this is that most lithium classification schemes are developed for solid ore deposits, whereas brine is a [[fluid]] that is problematic to treat with the same classification scheme due to varying concentrations and pumping effects.<ref name="Houston2011">{{cite journal |last1=Houston |first1=J. |last2=Butcher |first2=A. |last3=Ehren |first3=P. |last4=Evans |first4=K. |last5=Godfrey |first5=L. |title=The Evaluation of Brine Prospects and the Requirement for Modifications to Filing Standards |journal=Economic Geology |date=2011 |volume=106 |issue=7 |pages=1225–1239 |doi=10.2113/econgeo.106.7.1225 |bibcode=2011EcGeo.106.1225H |url=http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/17086/1/THE_EVALUATION_OF_BRINE_PROSPECTS_final%20for%20submission.pdf |access-date=28 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720195919/http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/17086/1/THE_EVALUATION_OF_BRINE_PROSPECTS_final%20for%20submission.pdf |archive-date=20 July 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2019, world production of lithium from spodumene was around 80,000&nbsp;t per annum, primarily from the [[Greenbushes, Western Australia|Greenbushes]] pegmatite and from some [[China|Chinese]] and [[Lithium mining in Chile|Chile]]an sources. The Talison mine in Greenbushes is reported to be the largest and to have the highest grade of ore at 2.4% Li<sub>2</sub>O (2012 figures).<ref>{{cite web |title=Greenbushes Lithium Mine |url=http://www.goldendragoncapital.com/greenbushes-lithium-mine/ |website=Golden Dragon Capital |access-date=18 January 2019 |language=en |archive-date=19 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121438/http://www.goldendragoncapital.com/greenbushes-lithium-mine/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Lithium triangle and other brine sources ====
The world's top four lithium-producing countries in 2019, as reported by the US Geological Survey, were [[lithium mining in Australia|Australia]], [[lithium mining in Chile|Chile]], [[Mining industry of China|China]], and [[mining in Argentina|Argentina]].<ref name="minerals.usgs.gov" />

The three countries of [[Chile]], [[Bolivia]], and [[Argentina]] contain a region known as the [[Lithium Triangle]]. The Lithium Triangle is known for its high-quality salt flats, which include Bolivia's [[Salar de Uyuni]], Chile's [[Salar de Atacama]], and Argentina's [[Salar de Arizaro]]. {{as of|2018}}, the Lithium Triangle had been estimated to contain over 75% of then known lithium reserves.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Lithium Triangle |url=https://latintrade.com/the-lithium-triangle/ |last=Halpern |first=Abel |work=Latin Trade |date=30 January 2014 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180610055238/http://latintrade.com/the-lithium-triangle/ |archive-date=10 June 2018}}</ref> Deposits found in subsurface brines have also been found in the United States (southwest Texas and Arkansas)<ref name=BannerNews20250715>{{cite news |title=Smackover Lithium reports highest lithium brine grade in SWA Project Area as FEED studies nearing completion |url=https://www.magnoliabannernews.com/news/2025/jul/18/smackover-lithium-reports-highest-lithium-brine/ |work=[[Magnolia Banner-News]] |date=18 July 2025 |access-date=26 July 2025}}</ref> and South America throughout the [[Andes]] mountain chain. In 2010, Chile was the leading producer, followed by Argentina. Both countries recover lithium from brine pools. According to USGS, Bolivia's [[Uyuni]] Desert has 5.4 million tonnes of lithium.<ref name="romero" /><ref>{{cite web |publisher=USGS |url=https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/2009/mcs2009.pdf |title=USGS Mineral Commodities Summaries 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100614002723/http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/2009/mcs2009.pdf |archive-date=14 June 2010}}</ref> Half the world's known reserves as of 2022 were located in [[Bolivia]] along the central eastern slope of the Andes.  The Bolivian government invested US$900 million in lithium production by 2022, and in 2021 successfully produced 540 tons.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dube |first=Ryan |title=The Place With the Most Lithium Is Blowing the Electric-Car Revolution |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/electric-cars-batteries-lithium-triangle-latin-america-11660141017 |access-date=11 August 2022 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=11 August 2022 |language=en |issn=1042-9840 |volume=CCLXXX |number=35 |pages=A1, A8 |archive-date=10 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810225908/https://www.wsj.com/articles/electric-cars-batteries-lithium-triangle-latin-america-11660141017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="romero">{{Cite news |author=Romero, Simon |title=In Bolivia, a Tight Grip on the Next Big Resource |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/world/americas/03lithium.html?ref=world |work=The New York Times |date=2 February 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701054223/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/world/americas/03lithium.html?ref=world |archive-date=1 July 2017}}</ref> The brines in the salt pans of the Lithium Triangle vary widely in lithium content.<ref name="cabello2022" /> Concentrations can also vary over time as brines are fluids that are changeable and mobile.<ref name="cabello2022" />

Extracting lithium from brine deep in Wyoming's [[Rock Springs Uplift]] has been proposed as revenue source to make atmospheric [[carbon sequestration]] economically viable.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Surdam |first1=Ronald C. |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-1-4614-5788-6_11 |title=Geological CO2 Storage Characterization |last2=Quillinan |first2=Scott A. |last3=Jiao |first3=Zunsheng |date=2013 |publisher=Springer New York |isbn=978-1-4614-5787-9 |editor-last=Surdam |editor-first=Ronald C. |location=New York, NY |pages=233–244 |language=en |chapter=Displaced Fluid Management—the Key to Commercial-Scale Geologic CO2 Storage |doi=10.1007/978-1-4614-5788-6_11}}</ref> Additional deposits in the same formation were estimated to be as much as 18 million tons if economic means of recovery can be employed.<ref>{{cite web |first=John C.K. |last=Daly |publisher=OilPrice.com |date=26 April 2013 |title=Researchers Have Stumbled On A Massive Lithium Mine That Could Meet All US Demand |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/new-wyoming-lithium-deposit-could-meet-all-us-demand-2013-4 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130503085509/http://www.businessinsider.com/new-wyoming-lithium-deposit-could-meet-all-us-demand-2013-4 |archive-date=3 May 2013 |website=[[Business Insider]] |location=New York City, U.S.}}</ref> Similarly in Nevada, the [[McDermitt Caldera]] hosts lithium-bearing volcanic muds that consist of the largest known deposits of lithium within the United States.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Benson |first1=Tom |title=Lithium enrichment in intracontinental rhyolite magmas leads to Li deposits in caldera basins |journal=Nature Communications |date=16 August 2016 |volume=8 |issue=1 |article-number=270 |doi=10.1038/s41467-017-00234-y |pmid=28814716 |pmc=5559592}}</ref>

In the US, lithium is recovered from brine pools in [[Nevada]].<ref name="CRC" /> Projects are also under development in [[Lithium Valley]] in California<ref name="FM 2023-12-12">{{Cite magazine |last=Bernick |first=Michael |date=December 12, 2023 |title=The Jobs Perplex Of The Lithium Valley |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelbernick/2023/12/12/the-jobs-perplex-of-the-lithium-valley/ |access-date=2024-02-05 |magazine=Forbes |language=en |archive-date=5 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240205065011/https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelbernick/2023/12/12/the-jobs-perplex-of-the-lithium-valley/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and from brine in southwest [[Arkansas]] using the [[direct lithium extraction]] process, drawing on the deep brine resource in the [[Smackover Formation]].<ref name=AR20250311>{{cite web |url=https://www.standardlithium.com/investors/news-events/press-releases/detail/186/smackover-lithium-successfully-completes-derisking-of-dle |title=Smackover Lithium Successfully Completes Derisking of DLE Technology With Final Field-Test at South West Arkansas Project |website=standardlithium.com |date=11 March 2025 |access-date=14 March 2025}}</ref>

A deposit of [[Rotliegend]] lithium brines containing 43 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent was discovered in the Altmark region of [[Saxony-Anhalt]], Germany, in 2025, potentially eliminating the dependency of European electric vehicle battery producers on imported lithium.<ref name="Tomslee 2025"/>

==== Hard-rock deposits ====
Since 2018 the [[Mining industry of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Democratic Republic of Congo]] is known to have the largest lithium [[spodumene]] hard-rock deposit in the world.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 10, 2018 |title=This Congo project could supply the world with lithium |work=[[MiningDotCom]] |url=https://www.mining.com/one-congo-project-supply-world-lithium/ |access-date=26 March 2021 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414030827/https://www.mining.com/one-congo-project-supply-world-lithium/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The deposit located in [[Manono, Democratic Republic of the Congo|Manono]], [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|DRC]], may hold up to 1.5 billion tons of lithium spodumene hard-rock. The two largest pegmatites (known as the Carriere de l'Este Pegmatite and the Roche Dure Pegmatite) are each of similar size or larger than the famous Greenbushes Pegmatite in [[Western Australia]]. Thus, the [[Mining industry of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Democratic Republic of Congo]] is expected to be a significant supplier of lithium to the world with its high grade and low impurities.

On 16 July 2018 2.5 million tonnes of high-grade lithium resources and 124 million pounds of uranium resources were found in the Falchani hard rock deposit in the region [[Puno]], Peru.<ref>{{cite news |title=Plateau Energy Metals Peru unit finds large lithium resources |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/peru-lithium/update-1-plateau-energy-metals-peru-unit-finds-large-lithium-resources-idUSL1N1UC0XF |work=Reuters |date=16 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726204758/https://www.reuters.com/article/peru-lithium/update-1-plateau-energy-metals-peru-unit-finds-large-lithium-resources-idUSL1N1UC0XF |archive-date=26 July 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2020, Australia granted Major Project Status (MPS) to the [[Finniss Lithium Project]] for a strategically important lithium deposit: an estimated 3.45 million tonnes (Mt) of mineral resource at 1.4 percent [[lithium oxide]].<ref name=miningnews20210317>{{cite news |title=Australia grants MPS for Core Lithium's Finniss lithium project |url=https://www.miningmetalnews.com/20210317/1786/australia-grants-mps-core-lithiums-finniss-lithium-project |last=Matthis |first=Simon |work=MiningMetalNews |date=17 March 2021 |access-date=13 October 2022 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013033439/https://www.miningmetalnews.com/20210317/1786/australia-grants-mps-core-lithiums-finniss-lithium-project }}</ref><ref name=primero20221013>[https://primero.com.au/projects/finniss-lithium/ CORE Lithium : Finnis Lithium] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013033439/https://primero.com.au/projects/finniss-lithium/ |date=13 October 2022 }}, retrieved 13 October 2022</ref> Operational mining began in 2022.<ref name=miningtech202201>{{cite news |title=Finniss Lithium Project, Northern Territory, Australia |url=https://www.mining-technology.com/projects/finniss-lithium-project/ |work=Mining Technology |date=13 January 2022 |access-date=13 October 2022 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013033440/https://www.mining-technology.com/projects/finniss-lithium-project/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Pampean Pegmatite Province]] in Argentina is known to have a total of at least 200,000 tons of [[spodumene]] with [[lithium oxide]] (Li<sub>2</sub>O) grades varying between 5 and 8 wt %.<ref name=minerals>{{Cite journal |title=The Li-Bearing Pegmatites from the Pampean Pegmatite Province, Argentina: Metallogenesis and Resources |journal=Minerals |publisher=[[MDPI]] |last1=Galliski |first1=Miguel Ángel |last3=Roda-Robles |first3=Encarnación |last4=von Quadt |first4=Albrecht |doi=10.3390/min12070841 |year=2022 |last2=Márquez-Zavalía |first2=María Florencia |volume=12 |issue=7 |page=841 |bibcode=2022Mine...12..841G |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In Russia the largest lithium deposit Kolmozerskoye is located in [[Murmansk]] region. In 2023, Polar Lithium, a joint venture between Nornickel and [[Rosatom]], has been granted the right to develop the deposit. The project aims to produce 60,000 tonnes of [[lithium carbonate]] and hydroxide per year and plans to reach full design capacity by 2030.<ref>{{Cite web |last1= |first1= |date=9 February 2023 |title=Russia to Launch Lithium Production by 2030, Aiming for 60,000 Tonnes Annually |url=https://metals-wire.net/commodities/lithium/russia-to-launch-lithium-production-by-2030-aiming-for-60000-tonnes-annually/ |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250718115857/https://metals-wire.net/commodities/lithium/russia-to-launch-lithium-production-by-2030-aiming-for-60000-tonnes-annually/ |archive-date=18 July 2025 |work=Metals Wire }}</ref>

==== Other sources ====
Another potential source of lithium {{as of|2012|lc=y}} was identified as the leachates of [[Geothermal electricity|geothermal wells]], which are carried to the surface.<ref name="bourcier">Parker, Ann. [https://www.llnl.gov/str/JanFeb05/Bourcier.html Mining Geothermal Resources] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120917035952/https://www.llnl.gov/str/JanFeb05/Bourcier.html|date=17 September 2012}}. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory</ref> Recovery of this type of lithium has been demonstrated in the field; the lithium is separated by simple filtration.<ref name="Simbol">Patel, P. (16 November 2011) [https://www.technologyreview.com/2011/11/16/21117/startup-to-capture-lithium-from-geothermal-plants/ Startup to Capture Lithium from Geothermal Plants] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220721191404/https://www.technologyreview.com/2011/11/16/21117/startup-to-capture-lithium-from-geothermal-plants/ |date=21 July 2022 }}. technologyreview.com</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Aydin |first=Bülent |date=2022-02-14 |title=Lithium Recovery from Geothermal Brine with Membrane-Supported Electrochemical Separation |url=https://pangea.stanford.edu/ERE/db/GeoConf/papers/SGW/2022/Aydin.pdf |access-date=2025-06-25 |website=Stanford Geothermal Workshop |quote=Recovery of this type of lithium has been demonstrated in the field; the lithium is separated by simple filtration.}}</ref> Reserves are more limited than those of brine reservoirs and hard rock.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-09-15 |title=How is lithium mined? |url=https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/how-lithium-mined |access-date=2025-06-25 |website=MIT Climate Portal |quote=Reserves are more limited than those of brine reservoirs and hard rock. |archive-date=1 July 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250701211228/https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/how-lithium-mined |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Pricing ===
[[File:Lithium prices.webp|thumb|300px|Lithium prices]]
Prices for lithium carbonate in 2024 in the range of $10,000/ton.<ref name=USGS-2025/>

=== Extraction ===
[[File:Preliminary Design And Analysis of a process for the extraction of lithium from seawater.pdf|thumb|upright|Analyses of the extraction of lithium from seawater, published in 1975]]
Lithium and its compounds were historically isolated and extracted from hard rock. However, by the 1990s [[mineral springs]], [[brine]] pools, and brine deposits had become the dominant source.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schwager |first=Mike |date=2021-12-12 |title=Lithium Resources and Extraction |url=https://large.stanford.edu/courses/2021/ph240/schwager1/docs/resources-07-00057.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101171008/https://large.stanford.edu/courses/2021/ph240/schwager1/docs/resources-07-00057.pdf |archive-date=2022-11-01 |access-date=2025-06-25 |website=Stanford University |quote=By the 1990s mineral springs, brine pools, and brine deposits had become the dominant source.}}</ref> Most of these were in Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia and the lithium is extracted from the brine by evaporative processes.<ref name="uslit" /> Large lithium-clay deposits under development in the McDermitt caldera (Nevada, United States) require concentrated sulfuric acid to leach lithium from the clay ore.<ref>{{cite tech report |title=Thacker Pass Lithium Mine Project Final Environmental Impact Statement |number=DOI-BLM-NV-W010-2020-0012-EIS |date=December 4, 2020 |publisher=[[Bureau of Land Management]] and the [[U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]] |url=https://eplanning.blm.gov/public_projects/1503166/200352542/20030633/250036832/Thacker%20Pass_FEIS_Chapters1-6_508.pdf |access-date=March 16, 2021}}</ref>

By early 2021, much of the lithium mined globally came from either "[[spodumene]], the mineral contained in hard rock formations found in places such as Australia and North Carolina"<ref name="wsj20210309">{{cite news |last1=Patterson |first1=Scott |last2=Ramkumar |first2=Amrith |date=9 March 2021 |title=America's Battery-Powered Car Hopes Ride on Lithium. One Producer Paves the Way |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/americas-battery-powered-car-hopes-ride-on-lithium-one-producer-paves-the-way-11615311932 |url-status=live |access-date=13 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210312162240/https://www.wsj.com/articles/americas-battery-powered-car-hopes-ride-on-lithium-one-producer-paves-the-way-11615311932 |archive-date=12 March 2021}}</ref> or from salty brine pumped directly out of the ground, as it is in locations in Chile, Argentina, and Arkansas.<ref name="wsj20210309" /><ref name=cabello2022>{{cite journal |last1=Cabello |first1=J |year=2022 |title=Reserves, resources and lithium exploration in the salt flats of northern Chile |url=http://www.andeangeology.cl/index.php/revista1/article/view/V49n2-3444/html |journal=[[Andean Geology]] |volume=49 |issue=2 |pages=297–306 |doi=10.5027/andgeoV49n2-3444 |access-date=3 July 2022 |archive-date=12 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221212053906/http://www.andeangeology.cl/index.php/revista1/article/view/V49n2-3444/html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=AR20250311 />

In Chile's [[Salar de Atacama]], the lithium concentration in the brine is raised by solar evaporation in a system of ponds.<ref name=cabello2022 /> The enrichment by evaporation process may require up to one-and-a-half years, when the brine reaches a lithium content of 6%.<ref name=cabello2022 /> The final processing in this example is done in [[Salar del Carmen]] and [[La Negra (industrial complex)|La Negra]] near the coastal city of [[Antofagasta]] where pure [[lithium carbonate]], [[lithium hydroxide]], and [[lithium chloride]] are produced from the brine.<ref name=cabello2022 />

'''Direct Lithium Extraction'''<!-- bolded per [[WP:MOSBOLD]] as a redirect target --> (DLE) technologies are being developed as alternatives to the evaporitic technology long used to extract lithium salts from [[brine]]s. The traditional evaporitic technology is a long duration process requiring large amounts of land and intensive water use, and can only be applied to the large continental brines. In contrast, DLE technologies are proposed to tackle the environmental and techno–economic shortcomings by avoiding brine evaporation.<ref name=nature20230223>{{Cite journal |last1=Vera |first1=María L. |last2=Torres |first2=Walter R. |last3=Galli |first3=Claudia I. |last4=Chagnes |first4=Alexandre |last5=Flexer |first5=Victoria |date=March 2023 |title=Environmental impact of direct lithium extraction from brines |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s43017-022-00387-5 |journal=Nature Reviews Earth & Environment |language=en |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=149–165 |doi=10.1038/s43017-022-00387-5 |bibcode=2023NRvEE...4..149V |issn=2662-138X}}</ref><ref name=NREE2022>{{Cite journal |last1=Voskoboynik |first1=D.M. |last2=Andreucci |first2=D. |date=2022 |title=Greening extractivism: environmental impact of direct lithium extraction from brines |journal=Nature Reviews Earth & Environment |volume=4 |pages=149–165}}</ref> Some recent lithium mining projects in the United States are attempting to bring DLE into commercial production by these non-evaporative DLE approaches.<ref name=AR20250311 />

One method of direct lithium extraction, as well as other valuable [[mineral]]s, is to process geothermal brine water through an electrolytic cell, located within a membrane.<ref name="Sun-2020">{{Cite journal |last1=Sun |first1=Sen |last2=Yu |first2=Xiaoping |last3=Li |first3=Mingli |last4=Duo |first4=Ji |last5=Guo |first5=Yafei |last6=Deng |first6=Tianlong |date=2020-02-20 |title=Green recovery of lithium from geothermal water based on a novel lithium iron phosphate electrochemical technique |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095965261934048X |journal=Journal of Cleaner Production |language=en |volume=247 |article-number=119178 |doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119178 |bibcode=2020JCPro.24719178S |s2cid=211445414 |issn=0959-6526}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gaynor |first=Sean P. |date=2023-05-10 |title=Direct Lithium Extraction and Lithium Hydroxide Production from Geothermal Brine |url=https://libraetd.lib.virginia.edu/public_view/2j62s648f |access-date=2025-06-25 |website=University of Virginia Libra ETD Repository |quote=One method direct lithium extraction, as well as other valuable minerals, is to process geothermal brine water through an electrolytic cell, located within a membrane.}}</ref><!-- is any of this being operationalized? what are the economics of electrolysis for commercial use? looks as if not: the distributed nature of the resource and limited volumes of the brine per well make economic recovery challenging relative to alternatives.-->

The use of [[electrodialysis]] and electrochemical intercalation was proposed in 2020 to extract lithium compounds from seawater (which contains lithium at 0.2 [[parts per million]]).<ref>{{Cite journal |author=Chong Liu |author2=Yanbin Li |author3=Dingchang Lin |author4=Po-Chun Hsu |author5=Bofei Liu |author6=Gangbin Yan |author7=Tong Wu Yi Cui |author8=Steven Chu |title=Lithium Extraction from Seawater through Pulsed Electrochemical Intercalation |journal=Joule |date=2020 |volume=4 |issue=7 |pages=1459–1469 |doi=10.1016/j.joule.2020.05.017 |bibcode=2020Joule...4.1459L |s2cid=225527170}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |author=Tsuyoshi Hoshino |title=Innovative lithium recovery technique from seawater by using world-first dialysis with a lithium ionic superconductor |journal=Desalination |volume=359 |date=2015 |pages=59–63 |doi=10.1016/j.desal.2014.12.018 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2015Desal.359...59H}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/seawater-could-provide-nearly-unlimited-amounts-critical-battery-material |title=Seawater could provide nearly unlimited amounts of critical battery material |author=Robert F. Service |date=July 13, 2020 |magazine=Science |access-date=26 December 2020 |archive-date=13 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113062048/https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/07/seawater-could-provide-nearly-unlimited-amounts-critical-battery-material |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Yang-2018">{{Cite journal |last1=Yang |first1=Sixie |last2=Zhang |first2=Fan |last3=Ding |first3=Huaiping |last4=He |first4=Ping |last5=Zhou |first5=Haoshen |date=2018-09-19 |title=Lithium Metal Extraction from Seawater |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542435118302927 |journal=Joule |language=en |volume=2 |issue=9 |pages=1648–1651 |doi=10.1016/j.joule.2018.07.006 |bibcode=2018Joule...2.1648Y |s2cid=189702476 |issn=2542-4351 |access-date=21 October 2020 |archive-date=19 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119111157/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542435118302927 |url-status=live}}</ref> Ion-selective cells within a membrane in principle could collect lithium either by use of [[electric field]] or a concentration difference.<ref name="Yang-2018" /> In 2024, a redox/electrodialysis system was claimed to offer enormous cost savings, shorter timelines, and less environmental damage than traditional evaporation-based systems.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ghoshal |first=Abhimanyu |date=2024-08-27 |title=Stanford breakthrough promises 50% cheaper, cleaner lithium extraction |url=https://newatlas.com/materials/cheaper-cleaner-lithium-extraction/ |access-date=2024-08-29 |website=New Atlas |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Environmental issues ===
{{Further|Environmental impacts of lithium-ion batteries}}
[[File:Environmental protests in Belgrade, 11 December 2021.jpg|thumb|[[2021–2022 Serbian environmental protests|Environmental protests]] in Belgrade, Serbia, 11 December 2021]]
The manufacturing processes of lithium, including the solvent and [[mining waste]] of particular extraction processes can present environmental and health hazards.<ref name="UNCTAD-2020-02">{{cite journal |last1=Amui |first1=Rachid |title=Commodities At a Glance: Special issue on strategic battery raw materials |journal=United Nations Conference on Trade and Development |date=February 2020 |volume=13 |issue=UNCTAD/DITC/COM/2019/5 |url=https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/ditccom2019d5_en.pdf |access-date=10 February 2021 |archive-date=3 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203083250/https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/ditccom2019d5_en.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="EPA-2013">{{cite report |date=2013 |title=Application of Life-Cycle Assessment to Nanoscale Technology: Lithium-ion Batteries for Electric Vehicles |url=https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice/partnership-conduct-life-cycle-assessment-lithium-ion-batteries-and-nanotechnology |publisher=U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) |location=Washington, DC |id=EPA 744-R-12-001 |access-date=24 March 2021 |archive-date=11 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711070403/https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice/partnership-conduct-life-cycle-assessment-lithium-ion-batteries-and-nanotechnology |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Environmental Leader">{{cite web |title=Can Nanotech Improve Li-ion Battery Performance |url=http://www.environmentalleader.com/2013/05/30/nanotech-can-improve-li-ion-battery-performance/ |publisher=Environmental Leader |date=30 May 2013 |access-date=3 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821064806/http://www.environmentalleader.com/2013/05/30/nanotech-can-improve-li-ion-battery-performance/ |archive-date=21 August 2016}}</ref>
Lithium extraction done poorly can be fatal to aquatic life due to [[water pollution]].<ref name="WIRED-Katwala">{{cite magazine |last1=Katwala |first1=Amit |title=The spiralling environmental cost of our lithium battery addiction |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/lithium-batteries-environment-impact |magazine=Wired |publisher=Condé Nast Publications |access-date=10 February 2021 |archive-date=9 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209172109/https://www.wired.co.uk/article/lithium-batteries-environment-impact |url-status=live}}</ref>  The surface brine evaporation process has been known to cause surface water contamination, drinking water contamination, respiratory problems, ecosystem degradation and landscape damage,<ref name="UNCTAD-2020-02" /> and could lead to unsustainable water consumption in arid regions (1.9 million liters per ton of lithium), such as in northwestern Argentina.<ref name="Global Press Journal-2024">{{Cite web |date=2024-09-25 |title=Lithium Mining Leaves Towns Dry |url=https://globalpressjournal.com/americas/argentina/lithium-mining-leaves-towns-dry-in-argentina/ |access-date=2025-06-21 |website=Global Press Journal |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="UNCTAD-2020-02" />  Massive byproduct generation of evaporative surface lithium extraction also presents unsolved problems, such as large amounts of [[magnesium]] and [[Lime (material)|lime]] waste.<ref name="NATGEO-Draper">{{cite news |last1=Draper |first1=Robert |title=This metal is powering today's technology—at what price? |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2019/02/lithium-is-fueling-technology-today-at-what-cost/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190118232341/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2019/02/lithium-is-fueling-technology-today-at-what-cost/ |archive-date=18 January 2019 |url-access=subscription |access-date=10 February 2021 |work=National Geographic |issue=February 2019 |publisher=National Geographic Partners}}</ref>

Although lithium occurs naturally, it is a [[non-renewable resource]]{{better source needed|date=July 2025}}<!-- the lithium resource is widely reclaimed from old EV battery packs, just like steel and aluminum; this is different from oil & gas use which non-renewable use of the resource --> yet is seen as crucial in the transition away from [[Fossil fuel phase-out|fossil fuels]], and the extraction process has been criticised for long-term degradation of water resources.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How sustainable is lithium? |url=https://www.schroders.com/en-gb/uk/intermediary/insights/how-sustainable-is-lithium-/ |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=www.schroders.com |language=en-gb}}</ref><ref name=udec>{{Cite book |title=¿Cómo se forman las aguas ricas en litio en el Salar de Atacama? |last1=Álvarez Amado |first1=Fernanda |publisher=[[University of Concepción|Universidad de Concepción]] |year=2023 |language=Spanish |trans-title=How does the lithium-rich waters of Salar de Atacama form?|series=Serie Comunicacional CRHIAM |last2=Poblete González |first2=Camila |last3=Matte Estrada |first3=Daniel |last4=Campos Quiroz |first4=Dilan |last5=Tardani |first5=Daniele |last6=Gutiérrez |first6=Leopoldo |last7=Arumí |first7=José Luis|page=22}}</ref> In the southern reaches of [[Salar de Atacama]] lithium-producing company [[Albemarle Corporation|Albemarle Limitada]] reached a [[Conciliation|concialiatory agreement]] in 2024 to make reparations freshwater uptake that would have contributed –along with the uptake of copper mining companies– to dry meadows located in the traditional lands of the indigenous [[Atacama people|Atacameño]] people.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Aprueban conciliación entre el CDE, comunidades indígenas y empresas minerasen causa por daño ambiental en el salar de Atacama |last=Guillou |first=Víctor |date=2024-12-17 |access-date=2025-09-01 |url=https://www.latercera.com/pulso/noticia/aprueban-conciliacion-entre-el-cde-comunidades-indigenas-y-empresas-mineras-en-causa-por-dano-ambiental-en-el-salar-de-atacama/ARSQNDO32RGVZKQ4LM5FNVEKJQ/|work=[[La Tercera]] |language=es}}</ref><ref name=bnclosure>{{Cite web |title=Antofagasta Minerals avoids closure of Chile's Zaldívar copper mine with key water approval |url=https://www.bnamericas.com/en/features/antofagasta-minerals-avoids-closure-of-chiles-zaldivar-copper-mine-with-key-water-approval |date=2025-05-16 |access-date=2025-07-19 |website=[[BNamericas]]}}</ref><ref name=uchil>{{Cite news |title=CDE demandó a mineras Escondida, Zaldívar y Albemarle por dañar Salar de Atacama |url=https://radio.uchile.cl/2023/07/27/cde-demando-a-mineras-escondida-zaldivar-y-albemarle-por-danar-salar-de-atacama/ |access-date=2025-07-20 |work=Diario UChile |publisher=[[University of Chile]] |language=es |publication-date=2023-07-21}}</ref> In its defense Albemarle Limitada have asserted that its use is minimal compared to that of the nearby copper mining companies.<ref name=concluyen>{{Cite news |title=CDE, comunidades y empresas mineras concluyen argumentos en demanda por daño ambiental de acuífero en el Salar de Atacama |date=2024-01-20 |url=https://www.nuevamineria.com/revista/cde-comunidades-y-empresas-mineras-concluyen-argumentos-en-demanda-por-dano-ambiental-de-acuifero-en-el-salar-de-atacama/ |access-date=2025-07-20 |work=Revista Nueva Minería y Energía |language=es}}</ref>

In the United States, [[open-pit mining]] and [[mountaintop removal mining]] compete with [[Brine mining|brine extraction mining]].<ref name="nyt-20210506">{{cite news |title=The Lithium Gold Rush: Inside the Race to Power Electric Vehicles |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/06/business/lithium-mining-race.html |access-date=6 May 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=6 May 2021 |archive-date=6 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506143008/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/06/business/lithium-mining-race.html |url-status=live}}</ref>  Environmental concerns include wildlife habitat degradation, potable water pollution including [[arsenic]] and [[antimony]] contamination, unsustainable [[water table]] reduction, and massive [[mining waste]], including radioactive [[uranium]] byproduct and [[sulfuric acid]] discharge.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Team |first=IERE |date=2025-06-06 |title=How Does Lithium Mining Affect the Environment? |url=https://iere.org/how-does-lithium-mining-affect-the-environment/ |access-date=2025-12-05 |website=The Institute for Environmental Research and Education |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Is Lithium Mining Bad For The Environment? Stats And Facts |url=https://www.greenmatch.co.uk/blog/is-lithium-mining-bad-for-the-environment |access-date=2025-12-05 |website=GreenMatch.co.uk |language=en-GB}}</ref>

During 2021, a [[2021–2022 Serbian environmental protests|series of mass protests]] broke out in Serbia against the construction of a lithium mine in Western Serbia by the [[Rio Tinto (corporation)|Rio Tinto]] corporation.<ref>{{Cite web|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=2021-12-05|title=Rio Tinto lithium mine: thousands of protesters block roads across Serbia|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/05/rio-tinto-lithium-mine-thousands-of-protesters-block-roads-across-serbia|access-date=2021-12-08|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref> In 2024, an EU backed lithium mining project created large scale protests in Serbia.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ferreira Santos |first1=Sofia |title=Thousands protest against lithium mining in Serbia |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cged9qgwrvyo |access-date=13 August 2024 |agency=BBC |date=10 August 2024}}</ref>

Some animal species associated with salt lakes in the [[Lithium Triangle]] (in Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile) are particularly threatened by the damages of lithium production to the local [[ecosystem]], including the [[Andean flamingo]]<ref name="imperilled">{{cite journal |doi=10.1038/d41586-018-05233-7 |pmid=29789737 |title=Chilean Atacama site imperilled by lithium mining |journal=Nature |volume=557 |issue=7706 |page=492 |year=2018 |last1=Gutiérrez |first1=Jorge S |last2=Navedo |first2=Juan G |last3=Soriano-Redondo |first3=Andrea |bibcode=2018Natur.557..492G |doi-access=free}}</ref> and ''[[Orestias parinacotensis]]'', a small fish locally known as "karachi".<ref>{{Cite news |title=Karachi, el raro pez chileno del altiplano que vive en salares y peligra por la extracción del litio |last=Jerez |first=Sara |date=2024-11-20 |url=https://www.biobiochile.cl/especial/aqui-tierra/noticias/2024/11/20/karachi-el-raro-pez-chileno-del-altiplano-que-vive-en-salares-y-peligra-por-la-extraccion-del-litio.shtml |access-date=2024-12-13 |work=[[Radio Bío-Bío]] |language=es}}</ref>

=== Human rights issues ===
Reporting on lithium extraction companies and [[indigenous peoples in Argentina]] found that the state may did not always protect indigenous peoples' right to [[Free, prior and informed consent|free prior and informed consent]], and that extraction companies generally controlled community access to information and set the terms for discussion of the projects and benefit sharing.<ref name="Global Press Journal-2024" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Marchegiani |last2=Morgera |last3=Parks |date=November 21, 2019 |title=Indigenous peoples'rights to natural resources in Argentina: the challenges of impact assessment, consent and fair andequitable benefit-sharing in cases of lithium mining |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337431438 |journal=The International Journal of Human Rights}}</ref>

In Argentina's [[Puna de Atacama|Puna]] region, in 2023, two mining companies (Minera Exar and Sales de Jujuy) extracted over 3.7 billion liters of fresh water, over 31 times the annual water consumption of the local community of Susques department.<ref name="Global Press Journal-2024" />

Extraction of lithium-rich brines in [[Salar de Atacama]] in Chile led to conflict about [[water use]] with local communities.<ref name="imperilled"/> The local indigenous population of [[Atacama people|Likan Antay]] have a history of both opposing lithium extraction and negotiating for [[shared benefits]] with lithium companies.<ref name=Lorca/> Negotiations occur under the framework of the [[Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989|Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention]] which Chile signed in 2008.<ref name=Lorca/> It is argued that in Chile "[a]greements between Indigenous organizations and lithium companies have brought significant economic resources for community development, but have also expanded the mining industry's capacity for social control in the area.".<ref name=Lorca>{{Cite journal |title=Mining indigenous territories: Consensus, tensions and ambivalences in the Salar de Atacama |journal=The Extractive Industries and Society |last1=Lorca |first1=Mauricio |volume=9 |last2=Olivera Andrade |first2=Manuel |doi=10.1016/j.exis.2022.101047 |year=2022 |last3=Escosteguy |first3=Melisa |last4=Köppel |first4=Jonas |last5=Scoville-Simonds |first5=Morgan |last6=Hufty |first6=Marc|article-number=101047 |bibcode=2022ExIS....901047L |doi-access=free |hdl=11250/3011598 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

In Zimbabwe, the global increase in lithium prices in the early 2020s triggered a 'lithium fever' that led to displacement of locals and conflicts between small-scale artisanal miners and large-scale mining companies. Some local farmers agreed to relocate and were satisfied with their compensation.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-05 |title=For Villagers in Zimbabwe, Lithium Boom Might Prove a Bust |url=https://globalpressjournal.com/africa/zimbabwe/villagers-zimbabwe-lithium-boom-might-prove-bust/ |access-date=2025-06-21 |website=Global Press Journal |language=en-US}}</ref> Artisanal miners occupied parts of the [[Sandawana mines]] and a privately owned lithium claim area in [[Goromonzi]], a rural area close to the capital [[Harare]]. The artisanal miners were later evicted after the area was cordoned off and shut down by Zimbabwe's Environmental Management Agency.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mkodzongi |first=Grasian |date=March 21, 2025 |title=Local inclusion and regulatory control key to sustainable mining: Lessons learnt from China's scramble for Zimbabwe's lithium reserves |url=https://nai.uu.se/stories-and-events/news/2025-03-21-local-inclusion-and-regulatory-control-key-to-sustainable-mining.html |journal=NAI Policy Notes 2025:3, the Nordic Africa Institute}}</ref>

Development of the [[Thacker Pass Lithium Mine|Thacker Pass lithium mine]] in Nevada, United States, has met with protests and lawsuits from several indigenous tribes who have said they were not provided free prior and informed consent and that the project threatens cultural and sacred sites.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Price |first=Austin |date=Summer 2021 |title=The Rush for White Gold |url=https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/magazine/entry/the-rush-for-white-gold/ |journal=Earth Island Journal |access-date=29 October 2021 |archive-date=29 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029004245/https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/magazine/entry/the-rush-for-white-gold/ |url-status=live}}</ref> They have also expressed concerns that development of the project will create risks to indigenous women, because resource extraction is linked to [[missing and murdered Indigenous women]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chadwell |first=Jeri |date=July 21, 2021 |title=Judge to decide on injunction request to halt work on Thacker Pass lithium mine |work=This is Reno |url=https://thisisreno.com/2021/07/judge-to-decide-on-injunction-request-to-halt-work-on-thacker-pass-lithium-mine/ |access-date=October 12, 2021 |archive-date=29 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029101346/https://thisisreno.com/2021/07/judge-to-decide-on-injunction-request-to-halt-work-on-thacker-pass-lithium-mine/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Protestors have been occupying the site of the proposed mine since January 2021.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Thacker Pass Lithium mine approval draws around-the-clock protest |url=https://sierranevadaally.org/2021/01/19/thacker-pass-lithium-mine-approval-draws-around-the-clock-protest/ |access-date=March 16, 2021 |work=Sierra Nevada Ally |date=January 19, 2021 |archive-date=29 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029145314/https://www.sierranevadaally.org/2021/01/19/thacker-pass-lithium-mine-approval-draws-around-the-clock-protest/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nyt-20210506" />

== Applications ==
[[File:Lithium Uses Chart 2020.png|thumb|Pie chart of how much lithium was used and in what way globally in 2020<ref name=USGS-2020>{{cite web |title=Lithium |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2020/mcs2020-lithium.pdf |website=USGS |access-date=15 November 2020 |archive-date=1 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101085310/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2020/mcs2020-lithium.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>]]

=== Batteries ===
In 2021, 87% of the worlds lithium production is used to make [[lithium-ion batteries]] for [[electric car]]s and [[mobile device]]s.<ref name=USGS-2025>{{cite web |title=Lithium |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2025/mcs2025-lithium.pdf |website=USGS |access-date=26 January 2026 }}</ref>

Late in the 20th century, lithium became an important component of battery electrolytes and electrodes, because of its high [[electrode potential]].{{citation needed|date=January 2026}} 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 [[volt]]s per cell, compared with 2.1 volts for [[lead–acid battery|lead-acid]] and 1.5 volts for [[zinc-carbon cell|zinc-carbon]].{{citation needed|date=January 2026}} Lithium-ion batteries, which are rechargeable and have a high [[energy density]], differ from [[lithium metal batteries]], which are [[disposable]] ([[primary cell|primary]]) [[Battery (electricity)|batteries]] with lithium or its compounds as the [[anode]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.batteryreview.org/disposable-batteries.html |title=Disposable Batteries – Choosing between Alkaline and Lithium Disposable Batteries |publisher=Batteryreview.org |access-date=10 October 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106031920/http://www.batteryreview.org/disposable-batteries.html |archive-date=6 January 2014}}</ref> Other rechargeable batteries that use lithium include the [[lithium-ion polymer battery]], [[lithium iron phosphate battery]], and the [[nanowire battery]].

=== Ceramics and glass ===
Lithium oxide is widely used as a [[Flux (metallurgy)|flux]] for processing [[silica]], reducing the [[melting point]] and [[viscosity]] of the material and leading to [[ceramic glaze|glazes]] with improved physical properties including low coefficients of thermal expansion. Worldwide this is the second largest use of lithium compounds.<ref name=USGS-2025/><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.fmclithium.com/Portals/FMCLithiumFineChemicals/Content/Docs/Worldwide+Demand+by+Sector.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907204758/http://www.fmclithium.com/Portals/FMCLithiumFineChemicals/Content/Docs/Worldwide%20Demand%20by%20Sector.pdf |title=Fmclithium.com |archive-date=7 September 2014 |website=www.fmclithium.com}}</ref> Glazes containing lithium oxides are used for ovenware. [[Lithium carbonate]] (Li<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub>) is generally used in this application because it converts to the oxide upon heating.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chemguide.co.uk/inorganic/group1/compounds.html |title=Some Compounds of the Group 1 Elements |last1=Clark |first1=Jim |date=2005 |website=chemguide.co.uk |access-date=8 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627011258/http://www.chemguide.co.uk/inorganic/group1/compounds.html |archive-date=27 June 2013}}</ref>

=== Lubricating greases ===
{{Main|Lithium grease}}

The third most common use of lithium is in greases. Lithium hydroxide is a strong [[base (chemistry)|base]], and when heated with a fat, it produces a soap, such as [[lithium stearate]] from [[stearic acid]]. Lithium soap has the ability to [[thickening agent|thicken]] oils, and it is used to manufacture all-purpose, high-temperature [[grease (lubricant)|lubricating greases]].<ref name="CRC" /><ref>{{Cite book |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=J_AkNu-Y1wQC |page=559}} |page=559 |title=Fuels and lubricants handbook: technology, properties, performance, and testing |volume=1 |author=Totten, George E. |author2=Westbrook, Steven R. |author3=Shah, Rajesh J. |name-list-style=amp |publisher=ASTM International |date=2003 |isbn=978-0-8031-2096-9 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160723033807/https://books.google.com/books?id=J_AkNu-Y1wQC&pg=PA559 |archive-date=23 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |pages=150–152 |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=3FkMrP4Hlw0C |page=152}} |title=Significance of tests for petroleum products |author=Rand, Salvatore J. |publisher=ASTM International |date=2003 |isbn=978-0-8031-2097-6 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160731221639/https://books.google.com/books?id=3FkMrP4Hlw0C&pg=PA152 |archive-date=31 July 2016}}</ref>

=== Metallurgy ===
[[File:Falcon 9 Booster (2997226647).jpg|alt=The SpaceX Falcon 9 booster in a hangar.|thumb|The [[SpaceX]] [[Falcon 9]] booster is made of [[Aluminium–lithium alloys|aluminum-lithium alloy]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Spaceflight Now {{!}} Falcon Launch Report {{!}} SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket facts|url=https://spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/004/falcon9.html|website=spaceflightnow.com|access-date=2026-01-30}}</ref>]]
Lithium (e.g. as lithium carbonate) is used as an additive to [[continuous casting]] mould flux slags where it increases fluidity,<ref>{{citation |title=The Theory and Practice of Mold Fluxes Used in Continuous Casting: A Compilation of Papers on Continuous Casting Fluxes Given at the 61st and 62nd Steelmaking Conference |publisher=Iron and Steel Society}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.675-677.877 |title=Effects of Li<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub> on Properties of Mould Flux for High Speed Continuous Casting |journal=Materials Science Forum |volume=675–677 |pages=877–880 |year=2011 |last1=Lu |first1=Y. Q. |last2=Zhang |first2=G. D. |last3=Jiang |first3=M. F. |last4=Liu |first4=H. X. |last5=Li |first5=T. |s2cid=136666669}}</ref> a use which accounts for 5% of global lithium use (2011).<ref name="minerals.usgs.gov" /> Lithium compounds are also used as additives (fluxes) to [[foundry sand]] for iron casting to reduce veining.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.afsinc.org/multimedia/contentMC.cfm?ItemNumber=16784 |title=Testing 1-2-3: Eliminating Veining Defects |work=Modern Casting |date=July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402163428/http://www.afsinc.org/multimedia/contentMC.cfm?ItemNumber=16784 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |access-date=15 March 2015}}</ref>

Lithium (as [[lithium fluoride]]) is used as an additive to aluminium smelters ([[Hall–Héroult process]]), reducing melting temperature and increasing electrical resistance,<ref>{{citation |title=Chemical and Physical Properties of the Hall-Héroult Electrolyte |first=W. |last=Haupin |page=449 |work=Molten Salt Chemistry: An Introduction and Selected Applications |editor-first=Gleb |editor-last=Mamantov |editor-first2=Roberto |editor-last2=Marassi |publisher=Springer |date=1987}}</ref> a use which accounts for 3% of production (2011).<ref name="minerals.usgs.gov" />

When used as a [[flux (metallurgy)|flux]] for [[welding]] or [[soldering]], metallic lithium promotes the fusing of metals during the process<ref>{{Cite book |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=Ua2SVcUBHZgC}} |title=Handbook of Lithium and Natural Calcium Chloride |last=Garrett |first=Donald E. |date=2004-04-05 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-08-047290-4 |page=200 |language=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161203191847/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ua2SVcUBHZgC |archive-date=3 December 2016}}</ref> and eliminates the formation of [[oxide]]s by absorbing impurities.<ref>{{Cite book |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=OG7PzP5xiHwC |page=171}} |title=Aluminum-Lithium Alloys: Processing, Properties, and Applications |last1=Prasad |first1=N. Eswara |last2=Gokhale |first2=Amol |last3=Wanhill |first3=R. J. H. |date=2013-09-20 |publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann |isbn=978-0-12-401679-8 |language=en |access-date=6 November 2020 |archive-date=1 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210101021730/https://books.google.com/books?id=OG7PzP5xiHwC&q=metallic+lithium+flux+removes+impurities&pg=PA171 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Alloy]]s of the metal with aluminium, [[cadmium]], copper and [[manganese]] are used to make high-performance, low density aircraft parts (see also [[Al-Li|Lithium-aluminium alloys]]).<ref>{{cite book |author1=Davis, Joseph R. ASM International. Handbook Committee |title=Aluminum and aluminum alloys |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=Lskj5k3PSIcC |page=121}} |access-date=16 May 2011 |date=1993 |publisher=ASM International |isbn=978-0-87170-496-2 |pages=121– |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528093207/http://books.google.com/books?id=Lskj5k3PSIcC&pg=PA121 |archive-date=28 May 2013}}</ref>

=== 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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Karki |first1=Khim |last2=Epstein |first2=Eric |last3=Cho |first3=Jeong-Hyun |last4=Jia |first4=Zheng |last5=Li |first5=Teng |last6=Picraux |first6=S. Tom |last7=Wang |first7=Chunsheng |last8=Cumings |first8=John |title=Lithium-Assisted Electrochemical Welding in Silicon Nanowire Battery Electrodes |journal=Nano Letters |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=1392–7 |year=2012 |pmid=22339576 |doi=10.1021/nl204063u |bibcode=2012NanoL..12.1392K |url=http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~lit/publications/TengLi-Pub43-NL-2012.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810065805/http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~lit/publications/TengLi-Pub43-NL-2012.pdf |archive-date=10 August 2017}}</ref>

=== Pyrotechnics ===
[[File:FlammenfärbungLi.png|thumb|upright=0.4|Lithium is used in flares and [[pyrotechnics]] is due to its rose-red flame.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Koch |first1=Ernst-Christian |title=Special Materials in Pyrotechnics: III. Application of Lithium and its Compounds in Energetic Systems |journal=Propellants, Explosives, Pyrotechnics |volume=29 |issue=2 |year=2004 |pages=67–80 |doi=10.1002/prep.200400032}}</ref>]]Lithium compounds are used as [[pyrotechnic colorant]]s and oxidizers in red [[fireworks]] and [[Flare (pyrotechnic)|flares]].<ref name="CRC" /><ref>{{Cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mtth5g59dEIC&pg=PA1089 |chapter=1.2.1 Inorganic Lithium Compounds [2] |title=Inorganic Chemistry |isbn=978-0-12-352651-9 |access-date=22 February 2016 |archive-date=19 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119063602/https://books.google.com/books?id=Mtth5g59dEIC&pg=PA1089 |editor-last1=Wiberg |editor-first1=Egon |editor-last2=Wiberg |editor-first2=Nils |editor-last3=Holleman |editor-first3=Arnold Frederick |year=2001 |publisher=Academic Press |page=1089}}</ref>

=== Air purification ===
[[Lithium chloride]] and [[lithium bromide]] are [[hygroscopic]] and are used as [[desiccant]]s for gas streams.<ref name="CRC" /> Lithium hydroxide and [[lithium peroxide]] are the salts most commonly used in confined areas, such as aboard [[spacecraft]] and [[submarine]]s, 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 (Li<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>) in presence of moisture not only reacts with carbon dioxide to form lithium carbonate, but also releases oxygen.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Air Quality Systems for Related Enclosed Spaces: Spacecraft Air |author=Mulloth, L.M. |author2=Finn, J.E. |name-list-style=amp |title=The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry |date=2005 |volume=4H |pages=383–404 |doi=10.1007/b107253 |isbn=978-3-540-25019-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=AD0619497 |title=Application of lithium chemicals for air regeneration of manned spacecraft |publisher=Lithium Corporation of America & Aerospace Medical Research Laboratories |date=1965 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007040028/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=AD0619497 |archive-date=7 October 2012}}</ref> The reaction is as follows:
:2 Li<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> + 2 CO<sub>2</sub> → 2 Li<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub> + O<sub>2</sub>
Some of the aforementioned compounds, as well as [[lithium perchlorate]], are used in [[Chemical oxygen generator#Oxygen candle|oxygen candles]] that supply [[submarine]]s with [[oxygen]]. These can also include small amounts of [[boron]], [[magnesium]], [[aluminium]], [[silicon]], [[titanium]], [[manganese]], and [[iron]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Markowitz |first1=M. M. |last2=Boryta |first2=D. A. |last3=Stewart |first3=Harvey |title=Lithium Perchlorate Oxygen Candle. Pyrochemical Source of Pure Oxygen |journal=Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Product Research and Development |volume=3 |issue=4 |year=1964 |pages=321–30 |doi=10.1021/i360012a016}}</ref>

=== Optics ===
[[Lithium fluoride]], artificially grown as [[crystal]], is clear and transparent and often used in specialist optics for [[infrared|IR]], [[ultraviolet|UV]] and VUV ([[vacuum UV]]) applications. It has one of the lowest [[refractive index|refractive indices]] and the furthest transmission range in the deep UV of most common materials.<ref>{{Cite book |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=CQ5uKN_MN2gC |page=149}} |page=149 |title=Building Electro-Optical Systems: Making It All Work |author=Hobbs, Philip C. D. |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |date=2009 |isbn=978-0-470-40229-0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623202135/https://books.google.com/books?id=CQ5uKN_MN2gC&pg=PA149 |archive-date=23 June 2016}}</ref> Finely divided lithium fluoride powder has been used for [[Thermoluminescent Dosimeter|thermoluminescent radiation dosimetry]] (TLD): when a sample of such is exposed to radiation, it accumulates [[crystal defect]]s which, when heated, resolve via a release of bluish light whose intensity is proportional to the [[absorbed dose]], thus allowing this to be quantified.<ref>{{Cite book |publisher=World Scientific |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=FY7s7pPSPtgC |page=819}} |title=Point Defects in Lithium Fluoride Films Induced by Gamma Irradiation |page=819 |series=Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Advanced Technology & Particle Physics: (ICATPP-7): Villa Olmo, Como, Italy |date=2002 |volume=2001 |isbn=978-981-238-180-4 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160606154252/https://books.google.com/books?id=FY7s7pPSPtgC&pg=PA819 |archive-date=6 June 2016}}</ref> Lithium fluoride is sometimes used in focal lenses of [[telescope]]s.<ref name="CRC" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sinton |first1=William M. |title=Infrared Spectroscopy of Planets and Stars |journal=Applied Optics |volume=1 |page=105 |date=1962 |doi=10.1364/AO.1.000105 |bibcode=1962ApOpt...1..105S |issue=2}}</ref>

The high non-linearity of [[lithium niobate]] also makes it useful in [[nonlinear optics|non-linear optics applications]]. It is used extensively in telecommunication products such as mobile phones and [[optical modulator]]s, for such components as [[crystal oscillator|resonant crystals]]. Lithium applications are used in more than 60% of mobile phones.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nl.computers.toshiba-europe.com/Contents/Toshiba_nl/NL/WHITEPAPER/files/TISBWhitepapertech.pdf |title=You've got the power: the evolution of batteries and the future of fuel cells |publisher=Toshiba |access-date=17 May 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717075300/http://nl.computers.toshiba-europe.com/Contents/Toshiba_nl/NL/WHITEPAPER/files/TISBWhitepapertech.pdf |archive-date=17 July 2011}}</ref>

=== Organic and polymer chemistry ===
[[Organolithium compound]]s 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 [[catalyst]]s/[[radical initiator|initiators]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://chemical.ihs.com/CEH/Public/Reports/681.7000/ |title=Organometallics |work=IHS Chemicals |date=February 2012 |access-date=2 January 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707175638/http://chemical.ihs.com/CEH/Public/Reports/681.7000/ |archive-date=7 July 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> in [[Anionic addition polymerization|anionic polymerization]] of [[functional group|unfunctionalized]] [[olefin]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Polymerization of 1,2-dimethylenecyclobutane by organolithium initiators |journal=Russian Chemical Bulletin |volume=37 |date=2005 |doi=10.1007/BF00962487 |pages=1782–1784 |author=Yurkovetskii, A. V. |first2=V. L. |first3=K. L. |last2=Kofman |last3=Makovetskii |issue=9 |s2cid=94017312}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1021/ma00159a001 |title=Functionalization of polymeric organolithium compounds. Amination of poly(styryl)lithium |date=1986 |author=Quirk, Roderic P. |journal=Macromolecules |volume=19 |pages=1291–1294 |first2=Pao Luo |last2=Cheng |bibcode=1986MaMol..19.1291Q |issue=5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Advances in organometallic chemistry |author=Stone, F. G. A. |author2=West, Robert |publisher=Academic Press |date=1980 |isbn=978-0-12-031118-7 |page=55 |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=_gai4kRfcMUC}} |access-date=6 November 2020 |archive-date=13 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313170549/https://books.google.com/books?id=_gai4kRfcMUC |url-status=live}}</ref> For the production of fine chemicals, organolithium compounds function as strong bases and as reagents for the formation of [[carbon-carbon bond]]s. Organolithium compounds are prepared from lithium metal and [[alkyl halide]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=_SJ2upYN6DwC |page=192}} |page=192 |title=Synthetic approaches in organic chemistry |author=Bansal, Raj K. |date=1996 |publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning |isbn=978-0-7637-0665-4 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160618033923/https://books.google.com/books?id=_SJ2upYN6DwC&pg=PA192 |archive-date=18 June 2016}}</ref>

Many other lithium compounds are used as reagents to prepare organic compounds. Some popular compounds include [[lithium aluminium hydride]] (LiAlH<sub>4</sub>), [[lithium triethylborohydride]], [[N-Butyllithium|''n''-butyllithium]] and [[Tert-Butyllithium|''tert''-butyllithium]].

[[File:US Navy 040626-N-5319A-006 An Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) MK-50 Torpedo is launched from guided missile destroyer USS Bulkeley (DDG 84).jpg|thumb|The launch of a torpedo using lithium as fuel]]

=== Military ===
Metallic lithium and its complex [[hydride]]s, such as lithium aluminium hydride (LiAlH<sub>4</sub>), are used as high-energy additives to [[rocket propellant]]s.<ref name="emsley" /> LiAlH<sub>4</sub> can also be used by itself as a [[solid fuel]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=An Experimental Investigation of a Lithium Aluminum Hydride–Hydrogen Peroxide Hybrid Rocket |url=http://media.armadilloaerospace.com/misc/LiAl-Hydride.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030628230627/http://media.armadilloaerospace.com/misc/LiAl-Hydride.pdf |archive-date=28 June 2003 |date=28 June 2003}}</ref>

The [[Mark 50 torpedo]] stored chemical energy propulsion system (SCEPS) uses a small tank of [[sulfur hexafluoride]], which is sprayed over a block of solid lithium. The reaction generates heat, creating [[steam]] to propel the torpedo in a closed [[Rankine cycle]].<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Stored Chemical Energy Propulsion System for Underwater Applications |author=Hughes, T.G. |author2=Smith, R.B. |author3=Kiely, D.H. |name-list-style=amp |journal=Journal of Energy |date=1983 |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=128–133 |doi=10.2514/3.62644 |bibcode=1983JEner...7..128H}}</ref>

[[Lithium hydride]] containing lithium-6 is used in [[thermonuclear weapon]]s, where it serves as fuel for the fusion stage of the bomb.<ref>{{cite book |last=Emsley |first=John |title=Nature's Building Blocks |date=2011}}</ref>

=== 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 weapon]]s.<ref>{{cite book |pages=59–60 |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=0oa1vikB3KwC |page=60}} |title=Nuclear Wastelands: A Global Guide to Nuclear Weapons Production and Its Health and Environmental Effects |author=Makhijani, Arjun |author2=Yih, Katherine |name-list-style=amp |publisher=MIT Press |date=2000 |isbn=978-0-262-63204-1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160613234841/https://books.google.com/books?id=0oa1vikB3KwC&pg=PA60 |archive-date=13 June 2016}}</ref> Lithium-7 gained interest for use in [[nuclear reactor]] [[coolant]]s.<ref>{{cite book |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=iRI7Cx2D4e4C |page=278}} |page=278 |title=Nuclear wastes: technologies for separations and transmutation |publisher=National Academies Press |date=1996 |isbn=978-0-309-05226-9 |author=National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Separations Technology and Transmutation Systems |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160613113140/https://books.google.com/books?id=iRI7Cx2D4e4C&pg=PA278 |archive-date=13 June 2016}}</ref>

[[File:Castle Bravo Blast.jpg|thumb|Lithium deuteride was used as fuel in the [[Castle Bravo]] nuclear device.]]
[[Lithium deuteride]] was the [[nuclear fusion|fusion fuel]] of choice in early versions of the [[Nuclear weapon|hydrogen bomb]]. When bombarded by [[neutron]]s, both <sup>6</sup>Li and <sup>7</sup>Li produce [[tritium]] — this reaction, which was not fully understood when [[Teller-Ulam design|hydrogen bombs]] were first tested, was responsible for the runaway yield of the [[Castle Bravo]] [[nuclear test]]. Tritium fuses with [[deuterium]] in a [[Nuclear fusion|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.<ref>{{Cite book |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=yTIOAAAAQAAJ |page=39}} |page=39 |title=How nuclear weapons spread: nuclear-weapon proliferation in the 1990s |author=Barnaby, Frank |publisher=Routledge |date=1993 |isbn=978-0-415-07674-6 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609210558/https://books.google.com/books?id=yTIOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA39 |archive-date=9 June 2016}}</ref>

[[Lithium fluoride]], when highly enriched in the lithium-7 isotope, forms the basic constituent of the fluoride salt mixture LiF-[[beryllium fluoride|BeF<sub>2</sub>]] used in [[molten salt reactor|liquid fluoride nuclear reactors]]. Lithium fluoride is exceptionally chemically stable and LiF-BeF<sub>2</sub> mixtures have low melting points. In addition, <sup>7</sup>Li, Be, and F are among the few [[nuclide]]s with low enough [[neutron cross-section|thermal neutron capture cross-sections]] not to poison the fission reactions inside a nuclear fission reactor.<ref group=note>Beryllium and fluorine occur only as one isotope, <sup>9</sup>Be and <sup>19</sup>F respectively. These two, together with <sup>7</sup>Li, as well as [[deuterium|<sup>2</sup>H]], <sup>11</sup>B, <sup>15</sup>N, <sup>209</sup>Bi, and the stable isotopes of C, and O, are the only nuclides with low enough thermal neutron capture cross sections aside from [[actinide]]s to serve as major constituents of a molten salt breeder reactor fuel.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baesjr |first1=C. |title=The chemistry and thermodynamics of molten salt reactor fuels |journal=Journal of Nuclear Materials |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=149–162 |date=1974 |doi=10.1016/0022-3115(74)90124-X |bibcode=1974JNuM...51..149B |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1028644/ |osti=4470742 |access-date=28 June 2019 |archive-date=13 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313170619/https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1028644/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

In conceptualized (hypothetical) nuclear [[fusion power]] plants, lithium will be used to produce tritium in [[Magnetic confinement fusion|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 (physics)|plasma]] with a 'blanket' containing lithium, where neutrons from the deuterium-tritium reaction in the plasma will fission the lithium to produce more tritium:
:<sup>6</sup>Li + n → <sup>4</sup>He + <sup>3</sup>H.

Lithium is also used as a source for [[alpha particle]]s, or [[helium]] nuclei. When <sup>7</sup>Li is bombarded by accelerated [[proton]]s <sup>8</sup>[[beryllium|Be]] is formed, which almost immediately undergoes fission to form two alpha particles. This feat, called "splitting the atom" at the time, was the first fully human-made [[nuclear reaction]]. It was produced by [[John Douglas Cockcroft|Cockroft]] and [[Ernest Walton|Walton]] in 1932.<ref>{{Cite book |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=XyOBx2R2CxEC |page=139}} |page=139 |title=Nobel Prize Winners in Physics |author=Agarwal, Arun |publisher=APH Publishing |date=2008 |isbn=978-81-7648-743-6 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629143432/https://books.google.com/books?id=XyOBx2R2CxEC&pg=PA139 |archive-date=29 June 2016}}</ref><ref>[http://www-outreach.phy.cam.ac.uk/camphy/cockcroftwalton/cockcroftwalton9_1.htm "'Splitting the Atom': Cockcroft and Walton, 1932: 9. Rays or Particles?"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120902195556/http://www-outreach.phy.cam.ac.uk/camphy/cockcroftwalton/cockcroftwalton9_1.htm |date=2 September 2012 }} Department of Physics, University of Cambridge</ref> Injection of lithium powders is used in fusion reactors to manipulate plasma-material interactions and dissipate energy in the hot thermo-nuclear fusion plasma boundary.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://phys.org/news/2011-11-lithium.html |title=With lithium, more is definitely better |website=phys.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://phys.org/news/2021-11-hot-cores-cool-edges-fusion.html |title=Integrating hot cores and cool edges in fusion reactors |website=phys.org |access-date=23 April 2023 |archive-date=29 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429103823/https://phys.org/news/2021-11-hot-cores-cool-edges-fusion.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

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.<ref name="nyt1013" />

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.<ref name="nyt1013">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/09/business/energy-environment/report-says-a-shortage-of-nuclear-fuel-looms.html |title=Report Says a Shortage of Nuclear Ingredient Looms |author=Wald, Matthew L. |date=8 October 2013 |work=The New York Times |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701025300/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/09/business/energy-environment/report-says-a-shortage-of-nuclear-fuel-looms.html |archive-date=1 July 2017}}</ref>

=== Medicine ===
{{Main|Lithium (medication)}}

[[File:Lithium2017a.jpg|alt=Four lithium carbonate capsules.|thumb|Capsules of lithium carbonate]]
Lithium is useful in the treatment of [[bipolar disorder]]. Lithium is useful maintenance treatment and for especially useful to treat mania.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Malhi |first=Gin S. |last2=Gessler |first2=Danielle |last3=Outhred |first3=Tim |date=August 1, 2017 |title=The use of lithium for the treatment of bipolar disorder: Recommendations from clinical practice guidelines |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032716323564 |journal=Journal of Affective Disorders |volume=217 |pages=266–280 |doi=10.1016/j.jad.2017.03.052 |issn=0165-0327}}</ref> Lithium salts may also be helpful for related diagnoses, such as [[schizoaffective disorder]] and cyclic [[major depressive disorder]].<ref>{{Citation |last1=Chokhawala |first1=Krutika P. |title=Lithium |date=2025 |work=StatPearls |url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519062/ |access-date=2026-01-10 |place=Treasure Island (FL) |publisher=StatPearls Publishing |pmid=30085604 |last2=Lee |first2=Sarah |last3=Saadabadi |first3=Abdolreza}}</ref> The active part of these salts is the lithium ion Li<sup>+</sup>.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Brown |first1=Kayleigh M. |last2=Tracy |first2=Derek K. |date=1 June 2013 |title=Lithium: the pharmacodynamic actions of the amazing ion |journal=Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=163–176 |doi=10.1177/2045125312471963 |issn=2045-1253 |pmc=3805456 |pmid=24167688}}</ref>

Lithium may increase the risk of developing [[Ebstein's anomaly|Ebstein's cardiac anomaly]] in infants born to women who take lithium during the first trimester of pregnancy.<ref name="pmid18982835">{{cite journal |author=Yacobi S |author2=Ornoy A |title=Is lithium a real teratogen? What can we conclude from the prospective versus retrospective studies? A review |journal=Isr J Psychiatry Relat Sci |volume=45 |issue=2 |pages=95–106 |date=2008 |pmid=18982835}}</ref> Too much lithium can lead to [[lithium toxicity]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Hedya |first=Shireen A. |title=Lithium Toxicity |date=2025 |work=StatPearls |url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499992/ |access-date=2026-02-03 |place=Treasure Island (FL) |publisher=StatPearls Publishing |pmid=29763168 |last2=Avula |first2=Akshay |last3=Swoboda |first3=Henry D.}}</ref> Lithium carbonate is classified as a [[mood stabilizer]] and is on the [[WHO Model List of Essential Medicines|World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=The selection and use of essential medicines 2023: web annex A: World Health Organization model list of essential medicines: 23rd list (2023) |publisher=[[World Health Organization]] |year=2023 |location=Geneva |hdl=10665/371090 |id=WHO/MHP/HPS/EML/2023.02 |hdl-access=free}}</ref>

Several randomized controlled trials and other studies over 40 years has shown that lithium is highly effective in reducing suicide among people with [[mood disorder]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Lithium in the prevention of suicide in mood disorders: updated systematic review and meta-analysis|url=https://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.f3646|journal=BMJ|date=2013-06-27|issn=1756-1833|pmid=23814104|pages=|volume=346|doi=10.1136/bmj.f3646|language=en|first=Andrea|last=Cipriani|first2=Keith|last2=Hawton|first3=Sarah|last3=Stockton|first4=John R.|last4=Geddes|article-number=f3646}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=Lithium and suicide in mood disorders: Updated meta‐review of the scientific literature|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bdi.12543|journal=Bipolar Disorders|date=2017-09-12|issn=1398-5647|pages=575–586|volume=19|issue=7|doi=10.1111/bdi.12543|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250114231812/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bdi.12543|archive-date=14 January 2025|language=en|first=Katharine A|last=Smith|first2=Andrea|last2=Cipriani|access-date=30 January 2026|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition to its effects on suicide, lithium also reduces mortality from all causes in people with mood disorders.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cipriani |first=Andrea |last2=Pretty |first2=Heather |last3=Hawton |first3=Keith |last4=Geddes |first4=John R. |date=October 2005 |title=Lithium in the Prevention of Suicidal Behavior and All-Cause Mortality in Patients With Mood Disorders: A Systematic Review of Randomized Trials |url=https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.162.10.1805 |journal=American Journal of Psychiatry |volume=162 |pages=1805–1819 |doi=10.1176/appi.ajp.162.10.1805}}</ref>

Lithium use has been correlated with reduced suicides even at very low doses.<ref name="jad">{{Cite journal |last1=Barjasteh-Askari |first1=Fateme |last2=Davoudi |first2=Mojtaba |last3=Amini |first3=Homayoun |last4=Ghorbani |first4=Mohammad |last5=Yaseri |first5=Mehdi |last6=Yunesian |first6=Masoud |last7=Mahvi |first7=Amir Hossein |last8=Lester |first8=David|display-authors=3 |date=2020-03-01 |title=Relationship between suicide mortality and lithium in drinking water: A systematic review and meta-analysis |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032719329258 |journal=Journal of Affective Disorders |volume=264 |pages=234–241 |doi=10.1016/j.jad.2019.12.027 |pmid=32056756 |issn=0165-0327}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Memon |first1=Anjum |last2=Rogers |first2=Imogen |last3=Fitzsimmons |first3=Sophie M. D. D. |last4=Carter |first4=Ben |last5=Strawbridge |first5=Rebecca |last6=Hidalgo-Mazzei |first6=Diego |last7=Young |first7=Allan H. |date=27 July 2020 |title=Association between naturally occurring lithium in drinking water and suicide rates: systematic review and meta-analysis of ecological studies |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-psychiatry/article/association-between-naturally-occurring-lithium-in-drinking-water-and-suicide-rates-systematic-review-and-metaanalysis-of-ecological-studies/B7DDAF6E2A818C45EA64F3424E12D67A |journal=[[The British Journal of Psychiatry]] |language=en |volume=217 |issue=6 |pages=667–678 |doi=10.1192/bjp.2020.128 |pmid=32716281 |issn=0007-1250}}</ref> Trace amounts of lithium in the [[water supply]] have been associated with a decreased risk of suicide, homicide, rape, drug arrests, and other crimes.<ref name="jad" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kohno |first1=Kentaro |last2=Ishii |first2=Nobuyoshi |last3=Hirakawa |first3=Hirofumi |last4=Terao |first4=Takeshi |date=1 Nov 2022 |title=Lithium in drinking water and crime rates in Japan: cross-sectional study |journal=BJPsych Open |language=en |volume=6 |issue=6 |pages=e122 |doi=10.1192/bjo.2020.63  |doi-access=free|pmid=33054891 |pmc=7576670 |issn=2056-4724}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Giotakos |first1=Orestis |last2=Tsouvelas |first2=George |last3=Nisianakis |first3=Paul |last4=Giakalou |first4=Vera |last5=Lavdas |first5=Alexandros |last6=Tsiamitas |first6=Charalampos |last7=Panagiotis |first7=Katsaris |last8=Kontaxakis |first8=Vasilis |date=2015-04-01 |title=A Negative Association Between Lithium in Drinking Water and the Incidences of Homicides, in Greece |journal=Biological Trace Element Research |language=en |volume=164 |issue=2 |pages=165–168 |doi=10.1007/s12011-014-0210-6 |pmid=25556933 |bibcode=2015BTER..164..165G |issn=1559-0720}}</ref>

== Precautions ==
{{Chembox
| container_only = yes
|Section7={{Chembox Hazards
| ExternalSDS =
| GHSPictograms = {{GHS02}}{{GHS05}}
| GHSSignalWord = Danger
| HPhrases = {{H-phrases|260|314}}
| PPhrases = {{P-phrases|223|231+232|280|305+351+338|370+378|422}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/aldrich/265969 |title=Lithium 265969 |website=Sigma-Aldrich |access-date=1 October 2018 |archive-date=13 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313170631/https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/aldrich/265969?lang=en&region=US |url-status=live}}</ref>
| NFPA-H = 3
| NFPA-F = 2
| NFPA-R = 2
| NFPA-S = w
| NFPA_ref = <ref>[http://periodictable.com/Elements/003/data.html Technical data for Lithium] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150323072217/http://periodictable.com/Elements/003/data.html |date=23 March 2015 }}. periodictable.com</ref>
 }}
}}

Lithium metal is [[corrosive]] and requires special handling to avoid skin contact. Breathing lithium dust or lithium compounds (which are often [[alkali]]ne) initially [[irritation|irritate]] the [[human nose|nose]] and throat, while higher exposure can cause a buildup of fluid in the [[lung]]s, leading to [[pulmonary edema]]. The metal itself is a handling hazard because contact with moisture produces the [[Corrosive substance|caustic]] [[lithium hydroxide]]. Lithium metal is safely stored in non-reactive compounds such as [[naphtha]].<ref>{{Cite book |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=Oo3xAmmMlEwC |page=244}} |pages=244–246 |isbn=978-0-8493-2523-6 |author=Furr, A. K. |date=2000 |publisher=CRC Press |location=Boca Raton |title=CRC handbook of laboratory safety |access-date=6 November 2020 |archive-date=13 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313170605/https://books.google.com/books?id=Oo3xAmmMlEwC&pg=PA244 |url-status=live}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Chemistry}}
* [[Cosmological lithium problem]]
* [[Dilithium]]
* [[Halo nucleus]]
* [[Isotopes of lithium]]
* [[List of countries by lithium production]]
* [[Lithia water]]
* [[Lithium–air battery]]
* [[Lithium burning]]
* [[:Category:Lithium compounds]]
* [[Lithium-ion battery]]
* [[Lithium Tokamak Experiment]]

== Notes ==

{{reflist | group=note |30em}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/industries/metals%20and%20mining/our%20insights/lithium%20and%20cobalt%20a%20tale%20of%20two%20commodities/lithium-and-cobalt-a-tale-of-two-commodities.pdf McKinsey review of 2018] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116154340/https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/industries/metals%20and%20mining/our%20insights/lithium%20and%20cobalt%20a%20tale%20of%20two%20commodities/lithium-and-cobalt-a-tale-of-two-commodities.pdf |date=16 November 2020 }} (PDF)
* [http://www.periodicvideos.com/videos/003.htm Lithium] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160716081724/http://www.periodicvideos.com/videos/003.htm |date=16 July 2016 }} at ''[[The Periodic Table of Videos]]'' (University of Nottingham)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090817001127/http://www.lithiumalliance.org/ International Lithium Alliance] (archived, August 2009)
* [https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/lithium/ USGS: Lithium Statistics and Information] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729074829/http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/lithium/ |date=29 July 2018 }}
* [http://trugroup.com/whitepapers/TRU-Lithium-Outlook-2020.pdf Lithium Supply & Markets 2009 IM Conference 2009 Sustainable lithium supplies through 2020 in the face of sustainable market growth] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604050036/http://trugroup.com/whitepapers/TRU-Lithium-Outlook-2020.pdf |date=4 June 2016 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080226213021/https://www.mcis.soton.ac.uk/Site_Files/pdf/nuclear_history/Working_Paper_No_5.pdf University of Southampton, Mountbatten Centre for International Studies, Nuclear History Working Paper No5.] (PDF) (archived February 26 February 2008)
* [https://investingnews.com/daily/resource-investing/battery-metals-investing/lithium-investing/lithium-reserves-country/ Lithium reserves by Country] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020151212/https://investingnews.com/daily/resource-investing/battery-metals-investing/lithium-investing/lithium-reserves-country/ |date=20 October 2022 }} at investingnews.com
* [[usgs.gov]]: [https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2025/mcs2025.pdf#page=114 Lithium] (Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025)

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[[Category:Lithium| ]]
[[Category:Chemical elements]]
[[Category:Alkali metals]]
[[Category:Reducing agents]]
[[Category:Chemical elements with body-centered cubic structure]]