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| (Courtesy Cornish Lithium) |
First discovered by miners in 1864, the existence of Cornwall's lithium-enriched geothermal fluids can be ascribed to the fact that significant areas of the county are underlain by a body of lithium-rich granite. Continuous interactions with the rocks, which remain hot at depths, has resulted in lithium-enriched geothermal fluids. It is by extracting lithium from these fluids, found deep beneath the surface of Cornwall's granite, that Cornish Lithium hopes to establish a high-tech, environmentally responsible mining industry.
To establish the economic viability of extracting lithium from these waters, Cornish Lithium is currently drilling two test boreholes of approximately 1,000m deep and 120mm width. The research boreholes will intercept permeable geological structures below the area's known historic mine workings.
"Our geologists will take samples of geothermal waters from these permeable structures to measure the amount of lithium that they contain," explains Cornish Lithium's drilling manager, Mike Round.
Cornish Lithium believes that access to these fluids can be gained via extraction boreholes, and that lithium can be extracted at surface in a small processing plant using advanced technologies such as ion-exchange membranes or reverse osmosis.
- Wednesday, October 2, 2019 - United Kingdom: Cornish Lithium About to Begin Exploration Drilling
- Thursday, January 17, 2019 - United Kingdom: More Funding for Project to Explore for Lithium from Geothermal Brine
- Monday, August 14, 2017 - United Kingdom: Project to Explore for Lithium from Geothermal Brine
- Thursday, January 19, 2017 - United Kingdom: New Lithium - Geothermal Energy Project Proposed in Cornwall
