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Spodumene’s energy journey

Nature Geoscience volume 19, page 132 (2026)Cite this article

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Spodumene links Earth’s tectonic history with the modern energy transition. Chen Chen and colleagues explore how tectonic cycles concentrate lithium into this mineral and how industrial extraction support a low-carbon future.

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Fig. 1: Spodumene occurrence.

Jingnan Zhang

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Critical Earth Material Cycling and Mineral Deposits, Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

    Chen Chen & Jingyu Wang

  2. Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA

    Jingnan Zhang

  3. Department of Geology, School of Earth Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, China

    Qing-He Yan

Authors
  1. Chen Chen
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  2. Jingyu Wang
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  3. Jingnan Zhang
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  4. Qing-He Yan
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Correspondence to Chen Chen.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Chen, C., Wang, J., Zhang, J. et al. Spodumene’s energy journey. Nat. Geosci. 19, 132 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-025-01912-z

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