Caustic conversion process

1. A process for extracting lithium from an uncalcined lithium-bearing silicate comprising:

a) heating a slurry of the uncalcined lithium-bearing silicate and a caustic solution in an autoclave to produce a Li-rich sodalite phase; and

b) leaching the Li-rich sodalite phase with a dilute acid having a pH of 2-6 to produce a lithium-rich pregnant liquor.

2. The process according to claim 1 , further comprising treating the lithium-rich pregnant liquor to recover a lithium salt from the lithium-rich pregnant liquor.

3. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the slurry has a solids content ≤25 wt %.

4. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the caustic solution comprises from 30%-60% w/w NaOH or 30-60 wt % KOH.

5. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the slurry is heated to a temperature from 200° C. to 350° C. in the autoclave and for a period from 1 to 6 hours.

6. The process according to claim 1 , wherein after heating said slurry to produce a Li-rich sodalite phase, the process further comprises diluting said slurry with water to 10-30% w/w NaOH or 10-30% w/w KOH.

7. The process according to claim 6 , wherein the Li-rich sodalite phase is separated from the diluted slurry and the separated Li-rich sodalite phase is washed one or more times to remove residual diluted caustic solution.

8. The process according to claim 7 , wherein the separated dilute caustic solution is treated with lime to produce insoluble calcium aluminates and calcium silicates.

9. The process according to claim 1 , wherein leaching the Li-rich sodalite phase with dilute acid is performed at a temperature from 20-80° C. and for a period from 30 minutes to 24 hours.

10. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the dilute acid comprises HCl or H 2 SO 4 .

11. The process according to claim 1 , wherein a slurry of the Li-rich sodalite phase and dilute acid has a solids content ≤50 wt %.

12. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the lithium-rich pregnant liquor comprises from 5-25 g/L Li.

13. The process according to claim 2 , wherein the lithium salt comprises lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, lithium phosphate or lithium sulfate.

14. The process according to claim 2 , wherein prior to treating the lithium-rich pregnant liquor to recover the lithium salt, the process further comprises removing impurities from the lithium-rich pregnant liquor.

15. The process according to claim 14 , wherein the removing impurities from the lithium-rich pregnant liquor comprises increasing the pH of the lithium-rich pregnant liquor to pH >10 by adding a base thereto and separating precipitates containing the impurities by filtration.

16. The process according to claim 15 , wherein after removing impurities from the lithium-rich pregnant liquor, the process further comprises softening said liquor by decreasing the calcium content thereof to less than 25 ppm.

17. The process according to claim 16 , wherein the softening comprises adding alkali metal carbonate or alkali metal phosphate to the lithium-bearing solution to produce calcium precipitates comprising calcium carbonate or apatite and separating said calcium precipitates.

18. The process according to claim 13 , wherein treating the lithium-rich pregnant liquor to recover lithium carbonate, lithium phosphate or lithium sulfate comprises:

contacting the lithium-rich pregnant liquor with carbon dioxide or adding a carbonate salt to the lithium-rich pregnant liquor to produce lithium carbonate solids and a barren lithium solution; or

adding a phosphate salt to the lithium-rich pregnant liquor to produce lithium phosphate solids and a barren lithium solution; or

treating the lithium-rich pregnant liquor to recover lithium sulfate comprises evaporating the lithium-rich pregnant liquor to produce lithium sulfate solids and a barren lithium solution.

19. The process according to claim 18 , wherein the barren lithium solution is separated and recycled.