https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/how-lithium-mined
Lithium is found in rock ores, which are mined and crushed, or in briny water, where it can be extracted using evaporation.
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Today, there are two main ways to pull lithium from the ground. Until recently, most lithium mining occurred in Chile, where lithium is extracted from brines: salty liquid found at the Earth’s surface or underground. To extract lithium, that liquid is pumped from the earth and then placed in pools where the water can evaporate, leaving behind lithium and other elements.
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Elsewhere, lithium mining looks more traditional. In 2017, Australia overtook Chile as the dominant lithium producer. Companies there blast a lithium-rich mineral called spodumene out of open pits. Today, Australia produces roughly half of the globe’s supplies.1 More than 80 percent of that rock then travels to China, where it’s further processed to yield lithium.2
That could involve encouraging people to use public transit (instead of personal cars), minimizing the size of EV batteries, and recycling lithium from old batteries. A 2023 study found that measures like this could reduce U.S. lithium demand by between 18 and 92 percent, while still letting us pursue our climate goals.8
from the above article.