Distribution of metal ions in ground & surface water, soils and plants in South East Ireland

Project Description

There is growing interest in a deposit of lithium buried in the Blackstairs mountain region along the border between county Carlow and Wexford. The deposit was discovered in the 1970's at a time when lithium batteries were in the infancy of their development. Because of lithium's excellent properties as a chemical energy accumulator in batteries it has become a key geo-political resource. Already li-ion batteries are powering our electronic devices and set to power the emission-free electric vehicles of our future. This modern demand for lithium has created international interest in the local deposit. Lithium in its metal form is highly reactive, raising a number of questions which this project will investigate, e.g. has the lithium from this deposit over millions of years diffused down into the waters, soils and plants of the Carlow's lowlands? If the deposits of lithium are mined will the levels of lithium increase? When any material is mined other metals are brought to the surface at levels that would not normally ever be exposed, metals like (Cd, Cu, Fe, K, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Zn) which this study intends to measure.