Lithium Focus on the UK

Focus on the UK

Background geological information and challenges

In the UK lithium primarily occurs as a minor element in the mica found in granite and granite pegmatites, especially in south-west England. In fact lithium-bearing mica was first identified in the St Austell Granite in south-west England in 1825. During the 19th century a small amount of lithiumbearing mica was extracted from the Trelavour Downs pegmatite within the St Austell Granite, for use in firework manufacturing (Hawkes et al., 1987). This working is the only known site of lithium extraction in the UK. Other lithium minerals, such as amblygonite, spodumene, petalite, montebrasite and elbaite, are very rare and have only been documented at a few localities in the UK (Tindle, 2008). There is currently no mine production of lithium in the UK and there are no deposits in which lithium reserves or resources have been reported. To date there has only been limited evaluation of the lithium potential in the UK. During the 1980s the BGS undertook an assessment of the potential to recover lithium from mica in the St Austell Granite in south-west England (Hawkes et al., 1987). Since 2017 two exploration companies, Cornish Lithium Ltd and British Lithium Limited, have started exploring for lithium in south-west England. Furthermore the Li4UK project has recently (August 2019) undertaken systematic lithogeochemical sampling at various sites across the UK, with the aim of evaluating domestic lithium resources (Li4UK, 2019).

Location of the principal lithium occurrences in the United Kingdom. From Shaw and Gunn (2020).

Even though lithium minerals are known to occur in the UK, many of them, with the exception of lithium-bearing micas, are very rare and are found only in minor amounts at a few localities. It is worth noting that lithium has never been commercially extracted in the UK, with the exception of a minor amount of small-scale working for a local market at the Trelavour Downs pegmatite in south-west England during the 19th century. Systematic exploration for lithium in the UK has been extremely limited, although in the past two years (2018–2019) there has been a significant increase in research and commercial exploration for lithium. This is most notable in south-west England, where ongoing exploration aims to sample geothermal waters to measure their lithium content. This will provide new data that is necessary to assess the resource potential and the feasibility of commercial extraction. Until a mineral resource estimate and the results of metallurgical testing of samples are published there is also uncertainly about the resource potential of hard rock lithium deposits in south-west England. Weardale Lithium Ltd. are also assessing the lithium potential of geothermal brines associated with the Weardale Granite, north-east England.

A priority target for further investigation is the buried spodumene-bearing pegmatite at Glenbuchat in north-east Scotland. The minerals present in the Glenbuchat pegmatite (i.e. spodumene, lepidolite, manganotantalite, manganocolumbite and elbaite) (Starkey and McMullen, 2017; Tindle, 2008), and its extreme enrichment in rubidium, lithium, caesium, and tantalum (Shaw and Goodenough, 2013), are indicative of a highly-evolved LCT (lithium-caesium-tantalum) pegmatite. The known enrichment of lithium in similar LCT pegmatites elsewhere in the world provides a strong basis for evaluating this site further. The other target worthy of further investigation is the lithium-mica-bearing areas of the St Austell Granite. In 1987 Hawkes et al. estimated there to be about 3.3 million tonnes of contained lithium in the St Austell Granite; however, this figure could be higher as the estimate was based on an ‘assumed’ deposit thickness of 100m.

Further information about the potential for lithium in the UK can be found in the UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre report.

UK critical minerals strategy and market opportunities

A recent UK criticality assessment published by BGS and commissioned by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), shows lithium as being of high potential criticality to the UK. The security of lithium supply is crucial to the UK’s electrification of transport ambitions that are required to meet the UK government’s net zero target. The UK's Critical Minerals Strategy, announced in 2022, aims to: (1) accelerate the growth of the UK's domestic capabilities; (2) collaborate with international partners; and (3) enhance international markets to make them more responsive, transparent and responsible. There are significant opportunities for the UK to utilise its expertise and cutting-edge research assets for innovation in these areas and establish lithium market share.

To create a sustainable supply chain for lithium in the UK, the UK would require diversification of the supply of lithium, while also exploring the possibility of domestic mining and refining of ores and secondary materials into lithium metal and lithium compounds. The UK has a leading role in R&D and education in metal refining and green chemistry. Therefore, it is important to play to the UK's strengths in developing new innovations for the lithium market (e.g. battery technology and battery recycling). Furthermore, there are many UK-based original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), therefore it will be important to provide incentives for OEMs to develop battery production facilities but also to enage in the end-of-life management of batteries.