Test drilling completed: A huge lithium deposit is to be exp
Lithium is an indispensable raw material for the production of batteries. These are, in turn, needed as often as never before - for example, in the case of electric cars, smartphones or energy storage systems for renewable energies. Some experts are already talking about "white gold". Up to now, mining has mainly been carried out in South America. Argentina and Chile already do very good business with the export of the raw material. Bolivia is also planning to expand lithium in the future, and so will leave the place as the poorest country on the continent. In the Erzgebirge of Thuringia, however, a gigantic deposit was also found here: 96,000 tonnes of lithium are supposed to lie under the earth, making it one of the largest deposits in the world.
120 million euros would have to be invested
The ore was found among the visitor mine "Verein Zwitterfeld zu Zinnwald". The "Deutsche Lithium GmbH" from Freiberg has already dismantled 100 tonnes of the raw material for testing purposes and the material was evaluated. Now these test bores have been completed and the responsible experts have given the green light for commercial dismantling. Before this, however, a profitability report should be prepared - the completion is expected to start in early 2019. If diving does not pose any major problems, then 120 million euros will be invested to build a completely new mine. The visitor mine is also to be preserved. This is why it is planned to build a log and dismantle the approximately one kilometer-long deposit from the side as it were.
The raw material is processed further in Dresden
Based on today's global market price, a value of EUR 5.76 billion can be calculated for the entire deposit. In fact, the value added within Germany could even be slightly higher. The raw material is not to be exported, but processed further in Dresden. Moreover, German industry can be a little independent of the fluctuating world market prices. By the time this is happening, however, there is still some time left: Experts expect that in about four years with larger explosions and the construction of the conveyor towers could be begun. In addition, stringent requirements are to ensure that the environmental impact of the dismantling is not as great as in the case of some foreign companies