Oil & Gas Industry Prove To Be an Unexpected Source of Lithium

All those rooting for “green energy” will be excited to know about the new lithium prospects that are known for being the base for batteries used in all devices right from electric vehicles to cell phones. However, they may have little disagreement with the new source and production process of this important element. MGX Minerals Inc. recently submitted a patent application for a new method of lithium production under which it is extracted from brine water as a side-product from oil extraction process. It is to be noted that the process had already been discovered and tested in labs several times. The company likes to call this new technique as Petrolithium.

Unexpected source of lithium

If MCX gets lucky and they get the patent, they will hold sole rights for this technology for coming two decades. By submitting the application, the firm has already won its rights for the coming year which gives it complete right to apply the same in other nations as well. The process used by MGX will reportedly produce lithium at a higher rate as compared to previously used techniques that range from hard rock mining to solar evaporation. All these techniques are highly time consuming and very costly for their operators. While a larger part of lithium production involves mining activities, the usage of water produced during oil extraction process can always be used for unlocking a better method for disposal of mining by -products.

The company has already signed agreements to acquire larger amounts of water that is obtained from mining operations in Sturgeon Lake projects lands and Alberta Oil Sands region. The former one is a region that was left unused as its previous owners found it non-compliant due to absence of a viable technology for lithium production. The technology, however, does not oppose the environmental effects of the Oil Sands that have turned into a highly debated source of revenue in Canada. The technology can also lead to better lithium production from several other sources.