Social Good Engineering Magazine: GineersNow Social Innovation GineersNow Engineering Magazine Issue No. 001 | Page 66

MINING
Lithium demand
booms ahead
As renewables and technology
advances, the need for portable
storage grows strongly says
Lithium Australia.
Lithium Australia mulls deeper project and
funding in lithium as potential demand
grows in the emergence of renewable and
portable storage technology. The Pilgangoo-
ra project in Western Australia is expected
to expand its scope for mining lithium as
the area was confirmed to be a pegmatite
zone.
Pegmatite is the ore
containing lithium.
I think we’re
talking about a
paradigm shift
in the way
people think
about pow-
er”, Adrian
Griffin,
Managing
Director
of Lithium
Australia,
said pertaining
to renewables
and storage like
lithium-ion batteries.

The company recently com-
pleted a $6.55 million share replacement in
one of the worst weeks in the trading history.
This however added potentials to its business
model for a $29 million fundraising drive.
Lithium Australia’s stock trading jumped
13.3% higher, representing 80% more since
the mid-January.

The company’s confidence for plan
expansion was led by its recent successful
production of lithium hydroxide. Lithium
hydroxide is an added chemical used in
production of batteries and represents a big
market at the back of increased electric car
manufacture. Adrian Griffin believes that
lithium can be traded either as carbonate or
hydroxide and that the market is hungry for
both.

He also added that the lithium
carbonate is at $10,000 per ton and the
lithium hydroxide at $14,000 per ton
spotting a very significant
price increase in the late
2015. For instance,
Lithium carbonate
was at low trade in
early December for
$10, 0540 but in-
creased highly late in
December at $14,362.

It is expected
that more companies
will be investing in lithi-
um
production as stocks have been
increas-
ing due to forecasted demands of lithium
batteries in the future.
Photo Sources:
Top: Earth Physics Teaching
Bottom: Market-Analyst
The Biggest
Diamond
Just Unearthed
in Angola
The previous record for the largest
diamond recovered in Angola
belonged to the 217.4 carat gem
Angolan Star. It was discovered
back in 2007.

Now, a miner working
for Lucapa Diamond Company
(an Australian mining company)
recently unearthed the largest
diamond in Angola’s Lunda Norte
province. It weighs around 80
grams and is 404.2 carats. This is the
27th biggest diamond ever recorded
around the world.

And can you guess how
much this diamond would cost? An
estimate of USD$800,000!

If this is used for jewelry,
it could cost millions of dollars.

Because of its latest
recovery, the company’s shares went
up by 32%. With over 10,372 carats
of diamond recovered these past
12 months, its diamond revenues
was around USD$8.1 million as of
December 2015. Each carat costs
around USD$2141. The search of
diamonds is under the company’s
Lulo diamond project.

The company’s CEO,
Stephen Wetherall, expressed how
proud he was of having recovered
this enormous diamond:
66
Photo Source: Forbes
The diamond’s weight
alone could cost around
USD$800,000.
“We have always emphasized the
very special nature of the Lulo dia-
mond field and this recovery — to-
gether with the other 100 carat-plus
diamonds recovered this year alone
— is further evidence of that… And
while we continue mining these
exceptional alluvial gems from
Mining Blocks 6 and 8 at Lulo, we
are also continuing to advance our
systematic exploration program to
find the kimberlite source of these
diamonds.”