Lithium extraction could be a boon for Alberta, but it comes with environmental uncertainties

The word mining conjures up visions of environmental destruction and ecosystem disruption, like mountain-top removal coal mining, or the surface mining in the Athabasca oil sands.

But lithium brine mining is quite different, at least as envisioned for Alberta's still-undeveloped industry.

The provincial government and the private sector have for years framed it in green terms: an extractive industry that would generate profits and jobs, and help advance the global adoption of electric vehicles, all with minimal environmental impact.

Lithium extraction hasn't arrived in Alberta yet, but it's fast approaching, with the potential to become a significant industry. It's worth understanding now.

The third-lightest element overall, lithium is a highly reactive alkali metal and relatively unstable. It never occurs by itself in nature, only in compounds.

It has a variety of uses, from greases to medication, but its most common use by far is in lithium-ion batteries, which are critical for many consumer devices, but especially for electric vehicles.

The current methods for producing lithium can be divided into two categories: traditional dig-a-hole-and-blow-up-rocks mining, and brine mining.

The first type is self-explanatory, and is typically catastrophically disruptive to local environments. This is how Australia — the leading producer, providing nearly half of the global total — gets much of its lithium.

One of the few lithium mines in North America, in an open pit 550 kilometres northwest of Montreal, is planning to reopen early next year.

But minerals aren't just found in rocks. They're also found in very salty water known as brines.

Some of these brines have fairly high concentrations of lithium and are found under expansive salt flats in the "Lithium Triangle" of Chile, Bolivia and Argentina. Chile alone holds 40 per cent of the world's lithium.

By comparison, Canada holds 2.5 per cent.

Alberta's brines have lower concentrations of lithium and are found deeper underground in sedimentary basins. Historically, these brines were never seen as an economically viable source of lithium — it's easier and cheaper to mine it from rocks in Australia, or pump up shallow brine to be evaporated under the South American sun.

But with surging demand for lithium-ion batteries, interest in unconventional sources began to grow. When the price of lithium skyrocketed in 2021, Alberta's prehistoric brines went from probably economically viable to a potential — for lack of a better phrase — gold mine.