Maybe your mobile phone contains lithium from Greenbushes, Western Australia
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382440)
Rockingham, Australia
October 27, 2017 3:16am CST
Just 42 kilometres south-east of our town of Donnybrook in Western Australia lies the small town of Greenbushes. When I was going to school we learnt that tin was mined there.
Greenbushes has a population of roughly 4,500 (2013 census). In 2016 it supplied around 30% of the world’s lithium. Production of lithium started in 1985 and last year the mine produced 650,000 tonnes of lithium concentrate. It is expected that the output will double by 2019.
Lithium has become an important component of batteries in such items as cameras and mobile phones but has other metallurgical uses as well. The ore is processed in Kwinana near Fremantle.
It surprises me that the town doesn’t have a much bigger population given the huge industry on its boundary. It remains a rather sleep little place but has a very impressive interactive museum, which is where I took a photo of a computer hard-drive which contains tantalum, another rare metal which is mined at Greenbushes.
6 people like this
6 responses
@m_audrey6788 (58468)
• Germany
27 Oct 17
@JudyEv Yes I think it`s important but not too much familiar on what it does actually in a board 
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
27 Oct 17
I would visit the museum. Perhaps the industry does not require that many employees.
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@teamfreak16 (43655)
• Denver, Colorado
29 Oct 17
What a neat thing to be known for.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382440)
• Rockingham, Australia
30 Oct 17
There are several small towns within an easy commute so I suppose some live in these towns. The ore in mined near the town then sent in trucks to Kwinana to be processed so I suppose there aren't a lot employed on the mine itself. Truck-drivers wouldn't need to live in the town.
