-
The discovery of lithium
Lithium was first discovered in 1817. It was one of the first elements to be created in the Big Bang theory and is a rare element on earth. It had many different uses and was found in different parts of the world. It is typically mined and found in igneous rocks. -
The isolation of lithium as a free metal
During 1855 a scientist named Thomas Brande isolated lithium as a free metal. This made it more usable for people. With it being a natural capital it is a resource that comes from the earth. All of our resources either are of come from a natural capital. -
Drastic increase in demand for lithium
After WW2 and the Cold War there was a drastic increase in the demand for lithium to be used in production of weapons. Lithium is a non renewable resource meaning it cannot be replenished and this high demanding time really took a tole on the amount of lithium used. -
Used as a drug
In this year lithium was introduced as a drug. Only three years later is was approved by the lithium food and drug administration to be used to help patients with mania. It was often used as a drug helping patients with similar diseases which was a heavy source of demand on the resource. Once people found more and more uses for it the demand continued to rise with the changes in society. -
New method of mining
A steel company called Posco develops a method to mine lithium from the continental brine. They are able to drill holes in the continental brine to extract it. This method however is not entirely sustainable. The method is very demanding on the environment. It creates a lot of water pollution and a lot of the land to be destroyed which makes the resource itself less sustainable. If getting it causes too big of environmental issues we may not be able to continue mining it for long. -
Global demand
The global demand of metalic lithium is of 37,800 tonnes. Sustainability is when companies or even populations use a resource in a way that will last. Therefore, the amount being used will not exhaust the resource to the point where they need more that they have. Lithium seems to Be used fairly sustainably over time considering there is a rough estimate of 17 million tonnes of it and it is not often that there is a high spike in demand.