By : Franyi Sarmiento, Ph.D., Inspenet, June 16, 2022
An important initiative of the Argentine Geothermal Chamber has made it possible to demonstrate the potential of geothermal lithium in the Argentine Andean belt with very promising results to attract investment.
The Argentine Geothermal Chamber (CGA), particularly Dr. Giorgio Stangalino, together with the collaboration of Lic. Bárbara Utesá (CGA) and the advice of Dr. Diego Morata (CEGA, Chile) carried out a review of the geochemical data of the thermal manifestations present in Argentina. This investigation was initiated in August 2021 and recently updated with more data to publicize the potential of geothermal lithium present in the country.
The results obtained show that there are high concentrations of measurable lithium in most of the thermal manifestations located in the provinces of the Andean belt, mainly in the center and north of the country.
Particularly, in some of these mentioned fields, values between 30 and 60 mg/L have been measured. Likewise, the magnesium-lithium ratios were calculated below 5 points, important data to consider when evaluating the extraction potential of said element. It should be noted that all the concentrations mentioned correspond to lithium values measured on the surface, so it is expected that they will increase in the deep reservoir.
The data presented provides an important added value for the development of geothermal energy projects in Argentina. Given the current scenario, in which the exploitation of conventional lithium in the provinces of the lithium triangle is at the center of the Argentine mining industry, geothermal development would imply two important benefits: the generation of clean, renewable and basic energy for the mining development of the area and another source of obtaining lithium, which provides great added value to the application of geothermal energy.
Among the most important aspects, and from the economic point of view, it is worth noting that the Technical Feasibility studies for the generation of electrical energy allow the Feasibility to be carried out for the exploitation of geothermal lithium, that is, with the same investment, they can carry out both feasibility studies.
Likewise, it notably improves the environmental balance of the mineral extraction process. During the exploitation of the geothermal field, once the fluids have been used for the generation of electrical energy (reducing their temperature to approximately 80°C), the lithium present in them is obtained through the direct extraction method, for later be reinjected into the reservoir. On the other hand, it should be noted that geothermal lithium projects have low or no CO2 emissions.
As CGA, we believe that the development of geothermal lithium represents significant benefits, not only economic but also environmental. That is why we are in dialogue with companies located in the geothermal field of Salton Sea, California, USA, who have already been developing this extraction technology since 2015, in order to promote and publicize the promising technical-commercial results in Argentina. .
This material from the PiensaGeotermia portal was edited for clarity, style and length.
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