Lithium in the natural waters of the South East of Ireland

The Blackstairs mountains (Carlow region) are rich with deposits of the rare lithium bearing mineral, spodumene. Lithium a desirable resource, is fundamental to the future production and availability of electric cars, i.e.... [ view full abstract ]

The Blackstairs mountains (Carlow region) are rich with deposits of the rare lithium bearing mineral, spodumene. Lithium a desirable resource, is fundamental to the future production and availability of electric cars, i.e. lithium-ion batteries. Ninety percent of the world’s lithium resources can be found in the salt flats of South America, however, a lack of infrastructure has resulted in delays of this lithium entering the global market, advantageously increasing the economic viability of lithium mining in Ireland. The potential benefits of lithium mining in Ireland versus the environmental impact must also be considered. This study aimed to establish baseline levels for lithium and several other metals in our natural waters, in the event that mining were to ever take place this data could be used as a benchmark to ensure that no extraneous metals were being leached into our waters. In addition, the data could also be used to support an environmentally aware mining process. Ground and surface water samples were taken from five sampling transects over the course of 2015. Atomic absorbance and flame emission spectroscopy was used to measure the levels of lithium and nine other metals in the samples. According to Hem 1992, the average amount of lithium found in natural water is normally between 1 and 10 ppb. The current study has revealed lithium levels three times higher than this. With a wealth of mineral deposits undiscovered throughout Ireland, the geochemistry of lithium needs some attention.