Saudi Arabia has successfully extracted lithium from brine samples from national giant Aramco's oilfields and plans to launch a commercial pilot program for direct extraction soon, the Saudi vice minister of mining affairs said on Tuesday.
Lithium Infinity, also known as Lihytech, a start-up launched out of King Abdullah University for Science and Technology, will lead the extraction project with cooperation from Saudi mining company Ma'aden and Aramco, Khalid al-Mudaifer told Reuters.
"They are extracting lithium through their new technology they have developed in King Abdullah University for Science and Technology and they are in accelerated development in this regard," he said.
Lithium is a key component in the batteries of electric cars, laptops, and smartphones. Reuters previously revealed that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates' national oil companies planned to extract the mineral from oil runoffs.