• Selective grinding for 15 minutes optimally dissociates lithium carrier minerals (chlorite, kaolinite, halloysite) from gangue, enabling efficient pre-concentration by screening.
• Acid leaching with 1 mol/L HCl at 70°C and 15 g/L pulp density achieves 97.43% lithium extraction in just 20 minutes, demonstrating high efficiency.
• Leaching kinetics reveal that grinding reduces apparent activation energy, confirming a chemical reaction-controlled rate-limiting step.
• The proposed process offers a low-energy, environmentally friendly route for selective lithium recovery from coal gangue, addressing strategic metal supply shortages.