The Chinese ministry of commerce announced a series of technologies including lithium processing and refining methods which may be restricted for export by Chinese companies.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce had announced a series of new proposed restrictions targeting the export of technologies related to battery materials and critical raw material processing and refining.  The proposed restrictions include new control points for technologies relating to the production of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide from spodumene, the processing of lithium solutions to recover lithium and produce a lithium carbonate or hydroxide product, and the production of lithium metal.

The potential restrictions present a challenge for several lithium operations and development projects, targeting both lithium hard rock and lithium brine feedstocks, as Chinese processing technology providers such as Sichuan Calciner Technology, Xian Sunrise and Sunresin New Materials are involved with developing metallurgical flowsheets. While these proposed restrictions could be significant for the hydrometallurgical stages of the process route at lithium operations, particularly in the production of lithium compounds from brine assets via direct lithium extraction (DLE) processes, it is believed the pyrometallurgical stages of spodumene processing will remain largely unimpacted.  This will allow Chinese owned operators to provide technologies relating to the early pyrometallurgical stages of spodumene processing such as calcination, acid mixing and roasting and leaching, though could restrict further involvement for lithium carbonate or hydroxide production.

The involvement of Chinese technology providers in lithium operations has increased particularly in the development of lithium brine operations in Argentina, the USA and Europe reliant upon DLE processes. Sunresin New Materials alone are involved with more than 10 lithium operations in the Americas and Europe utilising their DLE technologies. To DLE developers outside of China, however, the introduction of restrictions on Chinese operators could present an opportunity, with companies such as Lilac Solutions, Tenova or Clean Tech Lithium all developing their own processes unaffected by any China imposed regulations. With several brine operators also developing their own extraction and refining processes in-house, the impact of these potential restrictions will not be pervasive across the entire lithium industry though does present a risk of delays to development for some.