Ancient indigenous people used seven so-called “Metals of Antiquity”; today, our complex technologies require a much longer list of essential metals. Many of these are mined in poorer countries, even though deposits of these important ores are found in the United States.
Meeting increased demand for lithium has a dark side of potentially damaging the environment and public health – but fortunately there is also a lighter side. Recycling can reclaim valuable metals including lithium from the battery packs that might otherwise end up in landfills. Together, recovery from other industrial operations and recycling could eventually reduce the need to wrestle new metal supplies out of the ground.
