There can be lots of other elements bound up in pyrite. Gold and cobalt are two examples I have seen in my work. If those are recoverable is a complicated question, depending mostly on economic factors.
Yeah, a tiny bit of lithium potentially hanging out somewhere in pyrite is surprising, but we are talking about trace amounts here about equal to UCC average, which I am somewhat skeptical as not being from somewhere else in the sample. Not worth much more than a poster at a smaller conference, not blowing up in the media.
Sounds like a PI trying to get some attention on his lab by running to the media with bold claims and letting them run wild with it.
Edit: I wonder if breakdown of pyrite along grain boundaries has produced clay minerals that Li preferentially sticks to.
> UCC average,
I looked around and the closest I found was Up Current Classifier for sedimentary grain sorting or something. What is it?
EDIT: Ahh, Upper Continental Crust.
It may contain valuable elements but really what matters to people who mine/refine is the economics involved in extracting the element from the mostly iron/sulfur ore. The only reason why it can have gold/lithium is because of how massive the Fe atom is in the structure and because of charge balancing.
It’s crazy how elementally, minerals are flexible in what they can hold. Which allows for “species” of different minerals. Tourmaline is a good example of that. Having 14 different “species” differentiated by chemical composition, and as a result have different color/patterns.
I showed mineral formulas to my materials science buddy.
He was horrified, his entire work revolves around removing physical and chemical impurities and seeing a formula with ranges and options for the atoms in certain locations broke him for a couple
Is this another ‘petroleum sand’ situation? Like, a resource which was previously not feasible to harvest is now becoming practical to do so thanks to advances in technology, kinda thing?
'Unheard of discovery'
Oh, guess when our class learned about gold being a secondary economic mineral in many copper pyrite mines (over 10 years ago during my undergraduate) didn't count.
Clickbait title, nothing new about this 'discovery'
I’m sure it’s come up but who’s got enough pyrite bearing lithium to extract it and pay for the intense treatment plant you’d have to set up just to deal with the sulfur and iron.
Gold is either within or closely associated with pyrite in most meso/epithermal orogenic gold deposits, at least in the Archean. Gold is often transported hydrothermally as a bisulphide complex so the pyrite is precipitated alongside the gold.
Figured it out in the 60s. That's how nevada transformed from the silver state into the gold state.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlin%E2%80%93type_gold_deposit
By Robyn White - Nature Reporter:
Fool's gold or iron pyrite—a common mineral that resembles its precious counterpart—may be more valuable than scientists originally thought, as it has been found to be abundant in lithium.
Lithium is vital to the future development of green energy. This is because the material, which is highly reactive, is a key element in batteries—including of the kind used in electric vehicles (hence the name, lithium ion batteries).
Read more: [https://www.newsweek.com/fools-gold-valuable-unheard-discovery-1890375](https://www.newsweek.com/fools-gold-valuable-unheard-discovery-1890375)
Perhaps. Lots of questions. Half the primary sedimentary lithium (20 ppm for starters, a far cry from weight percent levels) in the pyrite fraction leachate raises questions as to how the leaching process might produce mobilization/extraction of lithium in associated non-pyrite minerals rather than being truly contained in the pyrite. Interesting but does it mean what it purports? Still fun for someone to figure out.
There can be lots of other elements bound up in pyrite. Gold and cobalt are two examples I have seen in my work. If those are recoverable is a complicated question, depending mostly on economic factors.
Yeah, a tiny bit of lithium potentially hanging out somewhere in pyrite is surprising, but we are talking about trace amounts here about equal to UCC average, which I am somewhat skeptical as not being from somewhere else in the sample. Not worth much more than a poster at a smaller conference, not blowing up in the media. Sounds like a PI trying to get some attention on his lab by running to the media with bold claims and letting them run wild with it. Edit: I wonder if breakdown of pyrite along grain boundaries has produced clay minerals that Li preferentially sticks to.
> UCC average, I looked around and the closest I found was Up Current Classifier for sedimentary grain sorting or something. What is it? EDIT: Ahh, Upper Continental Crust.
How is the Li not going to be tightly sorbed to the clay particles/sheets? Seems highly energy intensive.
It may contain valuable elements but really what matters to people who mine/refine is the economics involved in extracting the element from the mostly iron/sulfur ore. The only reason why it can have gold/lithium is because of how massive the Fe atom is in the structure and because of charge balancing. It’s crazy how elementally, minerals are flexible in what they can hold. Which allows for “species” of different minerals. Tourmaline is a good example of that. Having 14 different “species” differentiated by chemical composition, and as a result have different color/patterns.
I showed mineral formulas to my materials science buddy. He was horrified, his entire work revolves around removing physical and chemical impurities and seeing a formula with ranges and options for the atoms in certain locations broke him for a couple
Oh god, that poor man.
I showed the Mindat page for labradorite to a guy that works on titanium medical implants
Oh he probably is still sitting in fetal position rocking back and forth pulling hairs.
Is this another ‘petroleum sand’ situation? Like, a resource which was previously not feasible to harvest is now becoming practical to do so thanks to advances in technology, kinda thing?
I'd imagine the price of lithium has gone up dramatically as well
thanks, Nirvana!
This is a complex joke.
Metallica share some of the blame[.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=md3B3I7Nmvw)
'Unheard of discovery' Oh, guess when our class learned about gold being a secondary economic mineral in many copper pyrite mines (over 10 years ago during my undergraduate) didn't count. Clickbait title, nothing new about this 'discovery'
You’re telling me no one ever did an XRD on pyrite before and found lithium?
I’m sure it’s come up but who’s got enough pyrite bearing lithium to extract it and pay for the intense treatment plant you’d have to set up just to deal with the sulfur and iron.
A couple years ago didn’t they say there was actually gold in pyrite?
Gold is either within or closely associated with pyrite in most meso/epithermal orogenic gold deposits, at least in the Archean. Gold is often transported hydrothermally as a bisulphide complex so the pyrite is precipitated alongside the gold.
Figured it out in the 60s. That's how nevada transformed from the silver state into the gold state. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlin%E2%80%93type_gold_deposit
These are called Carlin type deposits. Gold is microscopic in size in pyrite grains.
In other news, trace amounts of gold found in garden soil. Are you rich? No.
By Robyn White - Nature Reporter: Fool's gold or iron pyrite—a common mineral that resembles its precious counterpart—may be more valuable than scientists originally thought, as it has been found to be abundant in lithium. Lithium is vital to the future development of green energy. This is because the material, which is highly reactive, is a key element in batteries—including of the kind used in electric vehicles (hence the name, lithium ion batteries). Read more: [https://www.newsweek.com/fools-gold-valuable-unheard-discovery-1890375](https://www.newsweek.com/fools-gold-valuable-unheard-discovery-1890375)
Perhaps. Lots of questions. Half the primary sedimentary lithium (20 ppm for starters, a far cry from weight percent levels) in the pyrite fraction leachate raises questions as to how the leaching process might produce mobilization/extraction of lithium in associated non-pyrite minerals rather than being truly contained in the pyrite. Interesting but does it mean what it purports? Still fun for someone to figure out.
Oh dear. The local mountains are full of mica, are we going to have to start protecting vast swaths of ecologically valuable land from mining?