{"id":70145,"date":"2023-02-16T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-16T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/ouverture-de-mines-de-lithium-en-france-vers-lindependance-strategique\/"},"modified":"2024-10-31T11:25:43","modified_gmt":"2024-10-31T10:25:43","slug":"ouverture-de-mines-de-lithium-en-france-vers-lindependance-strategique","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/ouverture-de-mines-de-lithium-en-france-vers-lindependance-strategique\/","title":{"rendered":"The Opening of Lithium Mines in France: Towards strategic Independence?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
The opening of lithium mines in Europe has long been neglected by public authorities but, in the light of the energy transition initiated by the European Union (EU), it now seems likely to be an essential element in the EU\u2019s strategic independence, since lithium is an important component of the lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries that are widely used in electric vehicles (EVs).<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

An Abundant Resource Produced Mainly Outside Europe<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lithium is the thirty-second most abundant element in the earth\u2019s crust, and is therefore relatively widely available. It is especially found in so-called \u201cconventional\u201d types of deposits, namely salar brines (62%) and lithiniferous rocks (27%). South America has the world\u2019s largest identified lithium resources: the \u201cLithium Triangle\u201d (straddling Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia) is estimated to account for 60% of the world\u2019s resources of the mineral. Australia and China also have significant lithium resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main global producers are Australia (48.7% of global lithium production in 2020), Chile (21.9%), China (17%), and Argentina (7.5%). In Europe, only Portugal has a lithium mine, which produced 400 tonnes in 2019, far too little to meet the demands of the European automotive industry. Consequently, opening lithium mines in France and elsewhere in Europe represents a strategic challenge in order to become independent in the supply of this mineral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Europe has lithium resources in its subsoil, particularly in Germany and Sweden. A 2018 study by the Bureau de recherches g\u00e9ologiques et mini\u00e8res (BRGM, the French Geological Survey institution) showed that the Armorican Massif (in the north-west of France), the Massif Central, and eastern France have lithium-rich subsoils (see map below). In total, BRGM has identified<\/a> around forty potentially exploitable lithium sites or deposits, prompting French President Emmanuel Macron to declare that \u201cin France, we don\u2019t have oil, but we do have lithium\u201d. The price of a tonne of lithium reached US$80,000 in March and November 2022; but prices vary enormously and it is difficult to get reliable figures because of the opacity of the lithium market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Map Showing the Probability of Discovering Lithium Mineralisation in Subsoil in Mainland France<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

The most favourable areas are shown in red.<\/span>
Source: <\/em>BRGM<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

The Challenges of Opening a Lithium Mine in France<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The French group Imerys announced on 24 October 2022<\/a> a project to open a lithium mine in Beauvoir (Allier) capable of producing 34,000 tonnes of lithium per year for twenty-five years from 2028. This project, named Emili (\u201cExploitation de mica lithinif\u00e8re par Imerys\u201d, \u201cMining of lithium mica by Imerys\u201d), would produce enough lithium for 700,000 EVs per year. Imerys estimates that it would require an investment of one billion euros, and would help create a thousand jobs in the Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes region. Prospecting has been carried out in Brittany and Alsace, but no plans for a mine have yet been announced in these two lithium-rich regions, although plans have been produced to exploit lithium brine deposits in Alsace by the Eramet group, which has tested a process known as EuGeLi for extracting the mineral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This first opening of a lithium mine represents a challenge, at a time when mines have almost disappeared from the landscape of mainland France. It is paramount that the project should have the lowest possible impact on the environment: Imerys will have to comply with an imposing set of regulations, and the French company has announced that it wants to attain the IRMA (Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance) label for responsible mining. The European legal framework is strict in this area, and would also contribute to limiting the impact of a mine\u2019s operations on the environment. Imerys has announced that hard rock lithium mining at Beauvoir would be less polluting than in the rest of the world, with emissions of eight tonnes of CO2<\/sub> per tonne of lithium, compared to fifteen to eighteen tonnes at other sites. However, this assessment will have to be tested against the reality of the operation, and Imerys\u2019s estimate has been criticised by several organisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lithium extraction requires a large amount of energy, and an increase in energy costs would increase the price of French lithium, making it less competitive on international markets, and ultimately jeopardising the prospects for lithium extraction in France. Similarly, lithium production requires a large amount of water. Producing one tonne of lithium requires an average of 469 cubic metres of water, and an annual production of 34,000 tonnes of lithium would require 16 million cubic metres. At a time when France regularly experiences summer droughts, and with water tables falling to historically low levels in 2022, the development of a lithium mine would place further pressure on water supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imerys will need to obtain a mining permit, which is subject to authorisation from the prefecture after consultation with the relevant departments and the mayors of the municipalities concerned. This could lead to a NIMBY (\u201cNot In My Backyard\u201d) effect, as was the case in Jadar (Serbia), where opposition from the local population led to the abandonment of a lithium mine project. Similarly, France has seen demonstrations against wind turbine projects, on the grounds that they harm the French landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opening Mines: Only One Part of the Supply Chain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The opening of a lithium mine in France would still not address all of the challenges raised by the need to supply electric batteries. Although the extraction of lithium is the first part of the supply chain, the refining of the mineral and the assembly of batteries are just as important. Refining is the process of purifying and treating lithium to improve its characteristics and make it suitable for battery manufacture. Refining is therefore essential for battery manufacture, since without refining, lithium cannot be used to make Li-ion batteries. Although Australia produces 48.7% of the world\u2019s lithium, more than 80% of its production is refined in China, according to IFPEN<\/a> (Institut fran\u00e7ais du p\u00e9trole-\u00c9nergies nouvelles). Similarly, China accounted for 61% of global Li-ion battery production capacity in 2018. As a result of China\u2019s virtual monopoly over the refining of lithium and the production of Li-ion batteries, lithium production in France would be dependent on China\u2019s refining capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

France must therefore not only mine lithium; it must also refine it and use it to manufacture batteries. This is why, on 7 June 2022, the French start-up Viridian announced plans to open France\u2019s first lithium refining plant for the manufacture of EV batteries in Lauterbourg (Bas-Rhin) in 2025. In addition, three gigafactories for the production of batteries are being built in the Hauts-de-France region (in Douai, Douvrin, and Dunkirk). These projects are part of the \u201cFrance 2030\u201d strategy, which aims to make France a leader in the electric battery market. However, although Imerys has announced that the estimated production of its mine would provide enough lithium for 700,000 EVs per year, this does not appear to be enough to equip the entire French car fleet, let alone meet the entire European demand. In 2021, 1.1 million new EVs were sold in Europe. This demand is set to increase, and the production of lithium mines in France and elsewhere in Europe may not be sufficient to meet this demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, lithium is only one of the components of electric batteries and, for example, cobalt is just as crucial and strategically important for the manufacture of batteries. Cobalt is not found in any exploitable quantities in the European subsoil; 80% of global production comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). China has established major partnerships with the DRC, and most of the DRC\u2019s cobalt production is refined in China. Overall, China refines 80% of the products needed for the production of Li-ion batteries. An interruption in the supply of cobalt would therefore bring a halt to the production of batteries in France. Furthermore, the opening of a lithium mine and plants for refining and battery production should not lead to the abandonment of the battery recycling sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article has been translated from French by Sam Ferguson.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The opening of lithium mines in Europe has long been neglected by public authorities but, in the light of the energy transition initiated by the European Union (EU), it now seems likely to be an essential element in the EU\u2019s strategic independence, since lithium is an important component of the lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries that are … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":63654,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"both","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":301,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[140],"tags":[133,202],"keyword":[1216,1251,143,1122],"class_list":["post-70145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newswatch","tag-economie-et-emploi-en","tag-environnement-en","keyword-indautomobile-en","keyword-transition-en","keyword-ressources-minerales","keyword-industrie-miniere-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70145"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99166,"href":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70145\/revisions\/99166"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70145"},{"taxonomy":"keyword","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/keyword?post=70145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}