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Explora: Environment
and Resource Critical minerals and battery recycling

the manufacturing cost of NCM-cathode batteries has 30%. Sulfide ore smelting is similar to cobalt ore smelting,
been steadily dropping from $200 to $100 per kWh due and nickel oxide ore smelting is a high-temperature,
to improvements in battery manufacturing technology; high-pressure acid leaching method that produces a large
however, the price of key raw materials recently increased amount of iron oxide residue as waste; therefore, new
and is currently hovering at approximately $130/kWh. 15 leaching processes are being studied. 23,24
The price of key raw materials for electric vehicle batteries In light of the above, key battery materials produced
has skyrocketed because the production of electric vehicles from critical minerals are only deposited in a few countries,
is increasing worldwide. These key raw materials are and most of them are refined in China; therefore, there are
produced through the processes of investigating, exploring, difficulties in securing raw materials due to the political
mining, beneficiation, refining, and materializing mineral and economic interests of the United States, Europe, and
resources; therefore, it is difficult to match the supply and China. 20,25,26 Therefore, securing stable source of these key
demand in this industry. In addition, they are produced raw materials has become an important agenda, and there
geographically only in certain countries; therefore, they are are four ways to do so. The first is to cooperate closely
also greatly affected by geopolitics (Figure 2). with countries that produce critical minerals containing
key raw materials to secure a stable supply of minerals.
Lithium is produced as a terrestrial mineral such
as spodumene (LiAlSi O ) in Australia, China, and the The second is to expand the stockpiling of these key raw
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Democratic Republic of Congo, and also exists in dissolved, materials domestically. The third is to actively develop
ionic form found in salt lakes such as those in Chile, South overseas mineral resources. The hasty expansion of
overseas resource development projects initiated by the
America. These are refined to produce lithium carbonate or previous administration in Korea has met failure. However,
lithium hydroxide, which are then supplied to companies Korea can continue to pursue private-led overseas resource
that manufacture battery cathode-active materials. The development projects by taking systematic steps, just as
price of lithium carbonate has recently decreased to China monopolized most of mineral resources projects
$16.5/kg, compared to $63.8 a year ago. 16,17 This is believed in Africa. The fourth is to secure key raw materials
to be due to the oversupply of raw materials resulting from through recycling. This is examined in detail in the next
a temporary slowdown in the electric vehicle industry.
section.
Cobalt is a metal produced mainly in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, as a byproduct of nickel and copper 3. Status of electric vehicle battery
production processes. It is mined with copper in the form recycling technology
of cobaltite (CoAsS) and chalcopyrite (CuFeS ). Mined ore Recycling companies currently leading battery recycling
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is made into copper-cobalt or nickel-cobalt alloy powder businesses include Belgium’s Umicore, Korea’s SungEel
through high-temperature smelting (pyrometallurgical Hitech, as well as China’s BRUNP, GEM, and Huayou
process) and then made into battery raw materials through Cobalt (Figure 3). These recycling companies sell the
a hydrometallurgical process. 18,19
cobalt, nickel, and lithium compounds produced from
Russia, South Africa, and Australia are the main recycling to lithium-ion battery cathode manufacturers at
producers of nickel sulfide ores, such as pentlandite reasonable prices. To date, raw materials for economically
(Fe Ni S ), whereas Indonesia, the Philippines, and New viable recycling projects have been scrapped from the
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Caledonia are the main producers of nickel oxide ores such battery manufacturing process and waste batteries
as laterite. 20-22 Nickel is mainly used in stainless steel alloys, recovered from small home appliances such as mobile
and recently, its demand for battery use has increased by phones.

Figure 2. Expected demand for key battery raw materials over the next 20 years. Image created by the authors. (Redrawn based on Reference No. 42).

Volume 2 Issue 2 (2025) 3 doi: 10.36922/eer.8140