Chinese team says their process can recover most of the lithium without the need for harsh and polluting chemicals.
Chinese scientists have found a way to recycle lithium batteries using only carbon dioxide and water – eliminating the need for harsh, polluting chemicals to extract the lithium and upcycle cathode materials.
The team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beijing Institute of Technology said they used a “three-in-one” strategy to improve lithium recovery, upgrade transition metals like cobalt and nickel, and sequester carbon to eliminate waste by-products.
Their method achieved a lithium leaching efficiency exceeding 95 per cent – comparable to traditional recycling methods that require corrosive chemicals and produce hazardous waste water.
“This approach not only provides an efficient pathway for lithium recovery but also upcycles spent cathode materials into valuable catalysts, supporting sustainable energy conversion technologies,” the team said in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications on January 10.
A cathode is the positive electrode of a battery and can be made using metals like lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese.
“Conducted under ambient conditions without additional grinding aids or leaching agents, this method minimizes environmental impact,” according to the scientists.
A new wave of innovation and technological revolution is still required in rare earth refining in the Western World.
The industry saw record funding in 2025 as the US looks to build out a supply chain of elements crucial to the defense and energy sectors.
US President Donald Trump has vowed to cut into China’s overwhelming lead in producing critical minerals as part of his national security push, including a new supply chain proclamation on Wednesday. In response, investors are pouring a record amount of money into US startups, providing support to an industry that also plays a key role in the energy transition.
The minerals — a set of 17 metallic elements — are used in products ranging from smartphones and electric vehicles to fighter jets. China controls roughly 60% of the world’s rare earth mining output and more than 90% of the global refining capacity, according to an October report by the International Energy Agency. That leaves industries in the US exposed to potential supply shocks.
TIMMINS – Having the backing of the province is giving a Timmins nickel mine a push towards the finish line.
Ontario Energy and Mines Minister Stephen Lecce was in Timmins today (Jan. 13) to add Canada Nickel’s Crawford mine to the province’s One Project, One Process framework.
“Permitting certainty is a key thing for mining projects and today’s announcement crystalizes what the province has already been doing,” said Mark Selby, Canada Nickel CEO.
Being designated by the province gives Selby more certainty that they’ll meet the construction milestone of breaking ground by year-end. The aim is to open the mine by the end of 2028.
In November, the project was also referred to Canada’s Major Projects Office, making it the first to be endorsed federally and provincially.
What stands out for Lecce is that it’s shovel-ready.
“This is a pretty incredible turnaround. So we want to create jobs. We want to displace Chinese, dirty nickel in global markets with green nickel that is being produced here, among the cleanest nickel on Earth,” said Lecce.
The critical minerals are needed for aerospace and military projects, said Lecce.
“And this is a company that’s demonstrated a strong commitment to collaboration, both with First Nations and with community. So they have our full endorsement,” he said.
Crawford is Canada Nickel’s flagship project in the area that the company has coined as the Timmins nickel district. It’s the second-largest nickel reserve in the world and would be the only source of chromium in North America. It would also supply cobalt, platinum and palladium.
It has the potential to become the Western world’s largest nickel operation, said Selby.
Fears of China choking off exports of critical minerals to Japan amid a deepening political dispute have set off industry alarms and prompted Tokyo to elevate the issue at a G7 gathering of finance ministers this week, despite Beijing’s assurances that civilian trade would be spared.
Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said last week that she would attend the Group of Seven event in Washington on Monday with the “risk of a rare-earth-supply interruption from China in mind”, the Tokyo-based Jiji Press reported. Officials from Canada, the United States and Australia were also expected to participate.
The inclusion of rare earths on the G7 agenda reflects heightened concern in Japan over China controlling exports of 17 rare earth elements that are crucial for Japan’s massive manufacturing sector, from consumer electronics to vehicles, according to analysts.
Although Japan has reduced its reliance on Chinese rare earths since 2010, when China stopped rare earth exports for two months following a vessel collision near disputed islets, it still depends heavily on Chinese supplies, as replacements take time, the experts said.
The Chinese State Council’s “Rare Earth Industry Development Plan (2021-2025)” establishes coordinated targets that explicitly connect mining output with downstream technology milestones. This policy framework differs from market-driven approaches where private investment decisions occur independently of government industrial planning.
Key coordination mechanisms include:
Research funding allocation aligned with five-year industrial development priorities
State-owned enterprise operations integrated with private sector innovation incentives
Regulatory environments designed to support domestic technology development clusters
University-industry partnerships with explicit commercialization mandates
Government research institutes, including Chinese Academy of Sciences divisions focused on materials science, receive dedicated funding for rare earth materials research aligned with broader industrial objectives. This creates predictable resource flows for long-term research projects while ensuring alignment between fundamental research and commercial applications.
The integration extends to environmental and regulatory considerations. Chinese facilities operate under different environmental compliance requirements compared to Western competitors, enabling cost structures that support both current operations and reinvestment in technology development. Additionally, these operations increasingly benefit from decarbonization benefits that enhance long-term competitiveness. This regulatory environment, combined with established supply chains and vertical integration advantages, creates compound benefits for innovation funding.
How Does China’s Patent Strategy Create Competitive Moats in Critical Technologies?
Intellectual Property Accumulation in Emerging Materials
China’s patent filing activity in rare earth materials significantly exceeds Western competitors, with China accounting for approximately 40-50% of global rare earth materials patents and higher percentages in emerging technology areas including nanomaterials and energy storage applications, according to World Intellectual Property Organization data from 2023.
Patent applications in rare earth nanomaterials and energy storage categories have grown at approximately 15-20% year-over-year in China between 2018-2023, while Western filing rates in equivalent categories have remained relatively flat or declined. This divergence reflects different strategic approaches to materials innovation and intellectual property development.
Focus areas for Chinese patent activity include:
Energy storage nanomaterials with enhanced conductivity and thermal stability
Magnetic separation processes optimizing cost structures and efficiency
Luminescent compounds for specialized optical and sensor applications
Advanced alloy compositions targeting aerospace and electronics sectors
Consequently, organizations must develop comprehensive IP protection strategies to safeguard their technological advantages in this competitive landscape.
Research Institution Networks and Knowledge Transfer
Chinese university-industry collaboration operates under different structural incentives compared to Western academic systems. Chinese institutions receive explicit mandates to commercialize research findings, supported by government incentive structures that reward technology transfer activities. This contrasts with Western university systems where commercialization typically occurs post-publication through licensing offices, creating longer development timelines.
NASA mineral mapping technology represents a groundbreaking advancement in mineral exploration, utilising hyperspectral imaging to identify critical battery materials from stratospheric altitudes. This technology captures electromagnetic radiation across 224 contiguous spectral bands, enabling detection of lithium, cobalt, and titanium compounds across vast geographic regions whilst accelerating discovery timelines that traditionally required decades of ground-based exploration.
NASA mineral mapping technology operates fundamentally differently from conventional satellite imaging through its ability to capture electromagnetic radiation across 224 contiguous spectral bands spanning 400-2,500 nanometres. Traditional satellite systems like Landsat utilise only 11 spectral bands, while Sentinel-2 operates with 13 bands, creating significant limitations in mineral identification capabilities.
Presently, there are a few small Indian companies engaged in manufacturing rare earth magnets. The industry needs a big push to feed the new generation of industries – from electric vehicles to fighter aircraft engines, wind turbines, and laptops to mention a few. Lately, it has come into a big focus as the world is moving towards electric vehicles. Rare earth magnet is a crucial component of electric vehicles (EVs). Fortunately, India has large rare earth deposits. Globally, it ranks third after China and Brazil.
The demand for rare earth magnets in India is expected to increase sharply in the coming years, driven by the expansion of EV manufacturing, increasing electronics output, defence production, industrial automation and renewable energy generation. For the present, the country uses rare earth magnets to the extent of 4,000 tonnes per year, mostly through imports. Among the companies currently manufacturing rare earth magnets in India are: IREL (India) Limited, Permanent Magnets Limited, Ashvini Magnets Private Limited, Star Trace, Eriez Magnets, Kumar Magnet, Sonal Magnetics, A to Z Magnet Mfg. Co. and Pragati Enterprises. The demand for rare earth magnets is projected to double by 2030. Lately, China has imposed restrictions on exports. Earlier this year, China slapped export licenses for seven types of rare earth elements and derivative products.
(Kitco News) – Gold prices ended the U.S. day session modestly higher Monday. The precious metal was given a boost by a weaker U.S. dollar index. There was also some fresh safe-haven buying interest in gold Monday as North Korea’s leader continues to make threatening comments toward the U.S. and South Korea. June Comex gold last traded up $4.20 at $1,599.90 an ounce. Spot gold was last quoted up $2.00 at $1,600.00. May Comex silver last traded down $0.353 at $27.97 an ounce.
In Southern Mexico, Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. (TSX:FVI)(NYSE:FSM) has been quietly and steadily building its San Jose Mine, moving it from an exploration project to a growing commercial silver and gold producing mine.
IRVING, TEXAS — Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) announced today that the company was awarded a series of follow-on contracts from Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp for new scopes of work at the Pascua-Lama mining project located on the Argentina/Chile border. Fluor booked the undisclosed value into backlog in the fourth quarter of 2012.
A Blog for Browsing Mining, Mineral Processing, and Metals Info 