Spodumene is super expensive; one dunk in a dipping glaze can now cost dollars. But lithium carbonate is even more so. However, both are used as a source of Li2O. The latter is 6+ times more concentrated. And spodumene is more troublesome in glazes (issues with settling, dusting, slurry properties, consistency). And it can be hard to get. So using lithium carbonate might be a better choice for you.
This side-by-side calculation seems to indicate that 15 Lithium Carbonate, 55 Kaolin and 30 Silica can substitute for 100 parts by weight of Laguna Spodumene Substitute. However, that is not quite correct. Note that my substitute recipe calculates to an LOI of 16.3. If I assume the Laguna material has no LOI (for convenience, it actually has 0.2%), that means each of the amounts need to be divided by (100-16.3)/100=0.84. Thus, to substitute for 100 parts of spodumene, you need ~120 of this mix (18 lithium carbonate, 66 kaolin and 36 silica).
Made by Gemini in response to a query to create a fist-sized spodumene ore rock. AI PolicyThis picture has its own page with more detail, click here to see it.
Industrial spodumene is found in massive quantities across major mining regions like Australia, Africa, and North America. Spodumene exists as mine concentrate, technical/ceramic grade and battery-grade material (the battery industry it has effectively repriced a ceramic feldspathic mineral as "lithium ore"). Still, if this 1.5kg rock was pure spodumene, it could be processed to ceramic grade and sold for $45 (June 2026). The actual mining commodity price at that time was US$2,100/tonne (pricing this rock at $3). That means finely ground ceramic spodumene is currently selling for 10+ times the mine/concentrate price.

This picture has its own page with more detail, click here to see it.
This pitcher was made by Elora Pottery. Like everyone using glazes that require lithium (from Spodumene or Lithium Carbonate), they are facing the unbelievable price increases these materials are seeing. Staci actually calculated the weight applied to each piece, determining the $$ dip cost! Notice her material costs on the photo. During efforts to reduce the spodumene content, I noticed the expensive carbonate colorants and asked if these were causing blisters in the glaze (because of gassing associated with their LOI). When I saw this picture, it became clear that they are. But in a good way. Part of the variegation we are seeing is doubtless the mechanical disturbance they cause in the fluid-melt phase-separated glass. But the melt fluidity of the glaze appears to be sufficient to heal them and smooth out the glass during cooling.
What did we do about the spodumene? We calculated to use lithium carbonate to supply the Li2O instead - it took one fifth as much material. Still super expensive, but easier to use and more consistent.

This picture has its own page with more detail, click here to see it.
Lithium carbonate is now ultra-expensive. Yet the reactive glaze on the left needs it. Spodumene has a high enough Li2O concentration to be a possible source here. It also has a complex chemistry, but the other oxides it contains are those common to glazes anyway. I did recipe rescue calculations and got a pretty good match in the formulas (lower section in the green boxes). Then I made 10-gram balls and did a GLFL test at 2200F.
Not surprisingly, this recipe is very runny; that's why the tiny yellow crystals grow during cooling. The new version fires very similarly, perhaps better. My calculated cost to mix these in 2022 was $17.84/kg vs. $10.40/kg. In 2026, the difference is even greater! But there is a practical cost: Poor slurry properties. The spodumene sources so much Al2O3 that 70% Alberta Slip had to be dropped to accommodate it! How does one use this type of glaze without ruining kiln shelves? Using a catcher glaze is one answer.
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