Activated aluminium-based alloy powders comprising either an Al-Ca or Al-Fe alloy mixed with sodium chloride were added to an aqueous solution of lithium chloride in a reaction flask and held at the appropriate temperature. The Al-Ca alloy formed an Al-Li co-precipitate comprising dendritic crystals of LiCl.Al(OH)3.xH2O, whereas the Al-Fe alloy displayed little tendency to react. The influence of the parameters Al:Li mole ratio, calcium content of the Al-Ca alloy, reaction temperature, initial concentration of lithium ions in solution and reaction time on the precipitation rate of lithium was investigated and the first three parameters were found to have a significant effect. Under optimal conditions of Al:Li mole ratio of 3.5:1, calcium content of 35%, reaction temperature of 70 degrees C, initial Li+ concentration of 0.8 g/l and reaction time of 1 h, the precipitation rate of lithium reached 94.6%, indicating that the Al-Ca alloy had potential utility for extracting lithium from salt lake brine., Activated aluminium-based alloy powders comprising either an Al-Ca or Al-Fe alloy mixed with sodium chloride were added to an aqueous solution of lithium chloride in a reaction flask and held at the appropriate temperature. The Al-Ca alloy formed an Al-Li co-precipitate comprising dendritic crystals of LiCl.Al(OH)3.xH2O, whereas the Al-Fe alloy displayed little tendency to react. The influence of the parameters Al:Li mole ratio, calcium content of the Al-Ca alloy, reaction temperature, initial concentration of lithium ions in solution and reaction time on the precipitation rate of lithium was investigated and the first three parameters were found to have a significant effect. Under optimal conditions of Al:Li mole ratio of 3.5:1, calcium content of 35%, reaction temperature of 70 degrees C, initial Li+ concentration of 0.8 g/l and reaction time of 1 h, the precipitation rate of lithium reached 94.6%, indicating that the Al-Ca alloy had potential utility for extracting lithium from salt lake brine.