Lithium miners strengthen sustainability commitments as demand recovers

With demand for lithium continuing to recover in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Chile's Sociedad Quimica y Minera (SQM) and other major lithium miners have announced plans to expand production while highlighting their commitments to sustainable lithium extraction.

SQM recently announced that it was the first lithium mining company to join the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), while committing to expand its capacity for lithium carbonate production in 2021 to 120,000 tonnes per year and to 180,000 tpy by 2023.
This compared with output of 70,000 tonnes in 2020.
The producer was joined by a string of other major and junior miners that have pledged to reduce the carbon footprints of their operations in line with increasingly stringent requirements from automotive manufacturers.

Lithium is a key ingredient in the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs)...

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