Spodumene Lithium Extraction: 6 Steps From Ore to Battery

Spodumene lithium extraction turns hard-rock ore into battery chemicals in six stages: mine, crush, float to a concentrate of about 6% lithium oxide, heat above 900 °C, leach with sulfuric acid, then purify. Spodumene (LiAlSi2O6) is the main lithium ore mineral in hard-rock mines. Mines concentrate it to about 6% Li2O, known as SC6, and sell it to converters, mostly in China. This guide gives the figures at each stage, with real plant data, and a calculator for testing your own ore.

The guide is written for consultants, licence owners and investors who need to judge a project, not only define a mineral. Two numbers decide most early conversations: the head grade (the lithium oxide content of the ore sent to the plant) and the recovery (the share of that lithium that reaches the concentrate).

What is spodumene, and what does lithium ore look like?

Spodumene is a pyroxene mineral made of lithium, aluminium, silicon and oxygen, with a Mohs hardness of 6.5 to 7. Its crystals are often striated, meaning they carry fine parallel lines along their length. The colour varies from white and grey to yellow, pink, lilac and green. The lilac gem variety is kunzite, and the emerald-green gem variety is hiddenite. Most mined spodumene is pale and plain, so it can be mistaken for feldspar or quartz in the field.

It forms in pegmatites, which are very coarse-grained igneous rocks that crystallise late from a granite melt. Lithium-rich examples belong to the lithium-cesium-tantalum family, explained in our guide to pegmatite deposits. Our overview of types of ore deposits shows how they compare with other deposit classes.

How much lithium does spodumene contain?

The industry reports lithium as lithium oxide (Li2O), not as lithium metal. Three figures are often confused, so keep them apart:

• Ore grade: the Li2O content of the mined rock. Greenbushes in Western Australia processed 6.16 Mt of ore grading 1.9% Li2O in 2025. North American Lithium in Quebec has a resource of 87.9 Mt at 1.13% Li2O.
• Concentrate grade: the Li2O content after processing. Battery-chain concentrate is commonly quoted at 5% to 6%. Greenbushes also makes specialist technical concentrates of about 5% to 7.2% Li2O.
• Lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE): a reporting unit that converts any lithium product to its Li2CO3 mass. One tonne of SC6 contains about 0.148 tonnes of LCE.

Claims that spodumene ore “exceeds 4% lithium” mix these units up. Ore at a mine is usually under 2% Li2O, as the examples above show, although the richest zones can be higher: the Greenbushes technical-grade plant takes feed averaging 3.7% Li2O.

Where spodumene is mined: major deposits and producers

Hard-rock lithium comes from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Zimbabwe, Mali and elsewhere. USGS estimates world mine production at 290,000 tonnes of lithium in 2025, with Australia at 92,000 tonnes. The USGS table counts all lithium sources by country, so Chile and Argentina are mainly brine, and China includes more than one source type.

Chart

Lithium mine production by country

Tonnes of contained lithium, 2025 estimate, all source types

The table below lists selected operations from company reports, with the date of each figure. It is a reference list, not a ranking, and the concentrate grades differ, so the tonnages are not directly comparable. Listed-company facts are given for information only.

Tianqi Lithium describes Greenbushes as the world’s largest producing spodumene mine by output, with 2.14 Mt/y of established capacity. For regional detail, see our lists of Western Australian gold and lithium mines and spodumene projects in James Bay.

▶ How satellite data was used to look for lithium in Nigeria, a pegmatite country. · 10:49

How is lithium extracted from spodumene? The 6 steps

The route has two halves. The mine and concentrator make a saleable mineral concentrate. A separate conversion plant, often in another country, makes the lithium chemical. The Argonne National Laboratory life cycle study describes this path for Western Australian ore converted in China.

Infographic

Spodumene to battery chemical in 6 steps

1. 1MineDig pegmatite ore, usually from an open pit.
2. 2Crush and sortGrind ore to release the spodumene.
3. 3FloatMake a concentrate near 6% Li2O.
4. 4CalcineHeat above 900 °C to form beta-spodumene.
5. 5Acid roast and leachDissolve lithium as lithium sulfate.
6. 6PurifyMake lithium carbonate or hydroxide.

Step 1: Mine the pegmatite

Greenbushes and Pilgangoora are open-pit operations. Underground mining is also used or planned: Liontown describes Kathleen Valley as Australia’s first underground lithium operation, and IGO reported a first underground resource at Greenbushes of 132 Mt at 1.5% Li2O, all in the low-confidence Inferred class. Waste rock dilution matters a great deal, because a pegmatite is usually a tabular body and mixing in host rock quickly lowers the plant feed grade.

Step 2: Crush, grind and sort

Ore passes through a series of crushing and milling stages. Grinding must separate the spodumene from quartz, feldspar and mica without making too many fine particles, since fines are harder to recover. Some plants add ore sorting, which uses sensors to reject waste rock before grinding. The Mt Holland expansion includes an ore sorting facility to treat stockpiled material that the plant cannot use today.

Step 3: Concentrate by flotation and gravity

Flotation uses reagents and air bubbles so that spodumene attaches to froth while other minerals stay behind. Dense-medium or gravity stages can come first. Output is a concentrate near 5% to 6% Li2O. Argonne’s model for Western Australia uses 4.5 tonnes of ore, 3 cubic metres of fresh water and 4,500 MJ of diesel per tonne of concentrate.

Real plant data shows how far yields can move with ore grade. Greenbushes reported about 22% concentrate mass yield in 2025, meaning 22 tonnes of concentrate per 100 tonnes of ore. Its technical-grade plant, on far richer feed, reported about 41.4%.

Step 4: Calcine to change alpha-spodumene into beta-spodumene

Natural alpha-spodumene resists acid. USGS notes it is fairly insoluble in water and dilute acids. Heating solves this. Above 900 °C it converts to the more reactive beta-spodumene form, and industry sources quote roasting at around 1,000 °C. This kiln stage is the reason spodumene conversion uses so much energy.

Step 5: Acid roast and water leach

The beta-spodumene is mixed with concentrated sulfuric acid and roasted again, then leached so the lithium dissolves as lithium sulfate. Silica and alumina stay behind as a solid residue. In the Tianqi plant data used by Argonne, coal supplied process heat for the acid-roasting kiln and for steam. The same data gives 1.71 tonnes of sulfuric acid per tonne of lithium carbonate.

Step 6: Purify and make carbonate or hydroxide

Impurities such as calcium, magnesium and iron are removed from the solution. Adding sodium carbonate then precipitates lithium carbonate. Hydroxide routes use sodium hydroxide instead and crystallise lithium hydroxide monohydrate. Argonne’s plant data shows the difference clearly:

A quick check is useful here. SC6 holds 0.148 tonnes of LCE per tonne, so a perfect plant would need about 6.8 tonnes of concentrate for one tonne of carbonate. Using 7.3 tonnes implies about 93% conversion recovery, by our arithmetic from those two published figures. Conversion also happens outside China: IGO reports hydroxide output from its Kwinana refinery in Western Australia.

Spodumene roasting: why energy and emissions are the main issue

Ore-based lithium usually carries a larger carbon footprint than brine-based lithium, and the kiln stages are a main reason. The Argonne study found that brine-based carbonate and hydroxide had lower life cycle greenhouse gas emissions and freshwater use per tonne than ore-based products, and put carbonate from Australian spodumene at 20.4 tonnes of CO2e per tonne. The IISD lithium profile, using IEA data, shows lower figures of 9.6 tonnes for carbonate and 17.05 tonnes for hydroxide from hard rock. The gap reflects different assumptions about plants and energy sources, so always ask which basis a project is using.

Chart

Emissions by lithium source and product

Tonnes of CO2e per tonne of LCE

The power and fuel mix can change the result a good deal. For one planned converter in Germany, Fraunhofer UMSICHT calculated 10.5 kg CO2e per kg of lithium hydroxide monohydrate in its base case, and over 20% less on renewable electricity. That is a modelled result for a single project, not a plant measurement.

Water, tailings and land

Hard-rock sites produce tailings (ground waste from the concentrator) and large volumes of waste rock, while conversion plants produce leach residue. Some projects plan to reduce wet storage: the US Department of Energy assessment for Kings Mountain describes sorted, dry-stacked tailings. A consultant reviewing a project should ask for the water balance, tailings design, waste rock chemistry and closure plan rather than rely on general statements.

Newer routes: what to ask

Organic acid leaching and bioleaching are often promoted as lower-impact options. Sulfuric acid conversion is the route described in the Argonne and IISD sources. Treat a newer route as unproven for your project until the developer can show continuous pilot or plant data on the same concentrate, including recovery, reagent use, residue handling and product purity.

▶ The main environmental impacts of mining, explained in plain words. · 2:31

Spodumene vs brine vs lepidolite

Hard rock and brine compete, but each has a different risk profile. IISD contrasts hard-rock mining’s energy-intensive conversion with its shorter development timelines. Brine operations pump lithium-rich water to the surface and concentrate it by evaporation or direct lithium extraction.

Spodumene price: how SC6 is priced

There is no single public exchange price. Benchmark assessed SC6 at US$2,254 per tonne FOB Australia on 2 September 2026, within a range of US$2,205 to US$2,302. FOB means the price at the export port, before ocean freight. This is the latest dated value in our sources, so check a current assessment before you use it.

Chart

SC6 price at selected dates

US$ per tonne, FOB Australia, selected dated assessments

Most offtake contracts (long-term sales agreements) link to price assessments from agencies such as Fastmarkets, Benchmark and Platts, often averaged over a month or quarter. Our guide to mining offtake agreements explains these terms. Some producers also sell by online auction, and exchanges list cash-settled spodumene futures.

Always check the grade basis. Companies report on different ones, which makes side-by-side comparison misleading unless you adjust for it:

• IGO reported a realised Greenbushes price of US$2,286/t in the June 2026 quarter, up from US$1,668/t the quarter before.
• PLS reported an average A$2,164/t on an SC5.2 basis for the year to June 2026, with FOB unit operating costs of A$569/t.
• Sigma Lithium reported a realised US$2,089/t on an SC5 basis in the second quarter of 2026.

Spodumene sells far below lithium chemicals because of its low lithium content and the conversion cost still to come. These prices have swung widely: USGS-sourced figures put SC6 near US$730/t in November 2024, and spot prices rose above US$2,000/t by mid-January 2026.

How to judge a spodumene project: a checklist for consultants and owners

A spodumene discovery is only worth what its concentrate can earn. These checks catch most early weaknesses.

1. Confirm the mineral. Spodumene, petalite and lepidolite need different flowsheets. Assays alone do not say which one carries the lithium, so use mineralogy such as XRD or petrography.
2. Check iron. Iron oxide limits sales into glass and ceramics. Greenbushes makes technical concentrates with controlled ferric iron oxide content.
3. Test the grade against recovery. Run locked-cycle flotation tests on representative samples, including weathered rock near surface, which may behave differently from fresh ore.
4. Model dilution. Thin dykes lose grade quickly when mined. A resource grade is not a plant feed grade.
5. Work out by-products. Greenbushes also produces a tantalum concentrate as a by-product, while other deposits may offer feldspar, mica or quartz.
6. Price transport. The concentrate is a bulk product, so road and port distance can decide a marginal project. Greenbushes hauls by road to Bunbury.
7. Stress-test price. Run the model at the low end of the recent range, not only at today’s price.

At the earliest stage, satellite imagery can help map outcrops, access and past workings before a field crew goes in. It does not measure lithium grade or replace drilling. Any result is an exploration target that sits ahead of a resource estimate.

▶ A short look at how a licence boundary becomes a geological and economic picture. · 4:56

Demand and supply outlook for spodumene

USGS estimates that batteries took 88% of global lithium use, followed by ceramics and glass at 4% and lubricating greases at 2%. Batteries drive the market, in electric vehicles, grid storage, electronics and tools. Lithium’s other uses are small by comparison, and spodumene is used directly as a mineral concentrate in some ceramics and glass.

Producers responded quickly to the 2026 price recovery. PLS approved a restart of its idled Ngungaju plant, and Mt Holland and Kathleen Valley approved expansions. IGO expects Greenbushes output to peak at just over 2 Mt/y of SC6 in 2029. New supply on this scale can pull prices back again, as happened after earlier peaks, so a project should not rely on one price point.

Battery recycling will add a further lithium source over time, but it depends on how many batteries reach end of life. Mined supply remains the main source in the USGS figures above.

Investors and managers can also explore Farmonaut’s pages on fleet management, carbon footprinting and product traceability, plus its API and developer documentation.

Frequently asked questions

What is spodumene used for?

Spodumene is mainly a source of lithium for battery chemicals. Some concentrate goes directly into ceramics and glass, and clear crystals are cut as the gems kunzite and hiddenite.

How is lithium extracted from spodumene?

Ore is crushed and floated to about 6% Li2O. The concentrate is heated above 900 °C to form beta-spodumene, roasted with sulfuric acid and leached in water. The purified solution then gives lithium carbonate or hydroxide.

Why does spodumene need to be roasted?

Natural alpha-spodumene is fairly insoluble in water and dilute acids. Heating changes its crystal structure to beta-spodumene, which reacts much more readily and allows the lithium to be leached.

What does lithium ore look like?

Spodumene ore usually looks like a pale, coarse-grained rock with long, lath-shaped white, grey or greenish crystals among quartz, feldspar and mica. Lithium carries no strong colour, so it must be confirmed by lab tests.

What is SC6 spodumene?

SC6 is spodumene concentrate with 6% lithium oxide. It is the standard pricing basis for the mineral. One tonne contains about 0.148 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent.

How much spodumene does it take to make a tonne of lithium carbonate?

Plant data used in the Argonne study shows 7.3 tonnes of 6% concentrate per tonne of lithium carbonate, and 6.42 tonnes per tonne of lithium hydroxide monohydrate. Argonne’s model also uses 4.5 tonnes of ore per tonne of concentrate, so the total is about 33 tonnes of ore per tonne of carbonate on that basis.

Is spodumene better than brine for lithium?

Neither wins on every measure. Brine has lower emissions and freshwater use per tonne in the Argonne study. Hard rock offers shorter development timelines according to IISD. The right comparison depends on the specific project.

What is a good spodumene ore grade?

There is no universal cut-off. Greenbushes’ open-pit reserve grades 1.9% Li2O, while North American Lithium’s resource is 1.13% Li2O. Whether a grade works depends on recovery, dilution, strip ratio, transport cost and price.

Which country produces the most spodumene?

Australia is the largest hard-rock producer. USGS estimates that it mined 92,000 tonnes of contained lithium in 2025, the highest figure of any country in its table.

Why is spodumene cheaper than lithium carbonate?

A tonne of SC6 holds only about 0.148 tonnes of LCE, and it still has to be converted. The buyer pays for the kiln, acid, reagents and purification needed to make a chemical product.

More from Farmonaut: agro admin app, crop loan and insurance.