Arkansas is sitting on a $150 billion ‘hidden treasure’ trove of lithium that could meet the global demand for EV batteries by 2030.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) found between five and 19 million tons of lithium in the Smackover Formation, which is nine times the amount needed to meet the ongoing electric vehicle demand in the US by the end of the decade.
The metal is a necessary component for batteries used in EVs and can be extracted from the brine wastewater from the same mines that produce oil and gas.
‘Lithium is a critical mineral for the energy transition, and the potential for increased U.S. production to replace imports has implications for employment, manufacturing and supply-chain resilience,’ USGS Director David Applegate said.
‘This study illustrates the value of science in addressing economically important issues.’
Several companies, including Exxon Mobil, have already begun drilling exploratory wells to extract the lithium from 4,000 feet below ground.
The global demand for lithium has drastically increased in recent years as countries move to transition from using fossil fuels in gas-powered cars to electric and hybrid vehicles.
The lithium gold mine was discovered in an area rich in oil and bromine deposits dating back to the Jurassic geological time period that stretches from Texas to Florida.
‘Our research was able to estimate total lithium present in the southwestern portion of the Smackover in Arkansas for the first time,’ said Dr Katherine Knierim, a USGS hydrologist who conducted the research.
‘We estimate there is enough dissolved lithium present in that region to replace U.S. imports of lithium and more.’
The USGS study found that if companies extracted lithium alongside oil and gas operations, it would provide ‘an opportunity to extract a valuable commodity from what would otherwise be considered a waste stream.’
‘The current mining infrastructure in the Smackover Formation is associated with oil and gas, and brine mining (for bromine), which began in the 1930s and 1950s, respectively,’ Dr Knierim told DailyMail.com.
‘Essentially, lithium could be removed from wastewater associated with these mining operations before the wastewater is pumped back into the formation as per usual.