To achieve its green energy development goals, the United States has been actively mining and extracting more lithium in recent years. This metallic element is an indispensable raw material for the development of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and is also considered a key element in the manufacture of electric vehicles and reducing global transportation carbon emissions.
According to PBS, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, passed by the U.S. Congress in August 2022, promised to increase subsidies for electric vehicles. This bill has become one of the reasons for the increased demand for electric vehicles in the United States. However, the current shortage of lithium supply in the United States may hinder the development and transformation of electric vehicles in the country.
However, this situation may change. CBS News reported that the Salton Sea, an inland saltwater lake in California, contains a large amount of lithium. The US mining company EnergySource Minerals and the US multinational automobile company General Motors have planned to mine lithium in the Salton Sea area.
CBS News also believes that lithium mining in California's Salton Sea will become a "Lithium Valley," just as the California Gold Rush of 1848 to 1855 enriched the region. California Governor Gavin Newsom even predicted that the state's lithium resources could make it a leading producer of lithium-ion batteries in the United States. Newsom even called California the "Saudi Arabia of Lithium."
EnergySource Minerals CEO Eric Spomer told CBS News in an exclusive interview that the company will extract lithium from geothermal saline aquifers and then reinject the resulting brine back into the ground at a depth of one mile (1.61 kilometers). "EnergySource Minerals is confident it can produce 300,000 tons of lithium annually from the Salton Sea, representing over 50% of the world's lithium supply," Spomer said. "Our geothermal lithium extraction process will make EnergySource Minerals' lithium processing plant one of the greenest and most efficient lithium mining operations in the world."
Spomer also said that the lithium reserves in the Salton Sea are quite astonishing. The lithium extracted in the area each year can be used for 7.5 million electric vehicles, which is half of the sales of cars and trucks in the United States. Although the cost of extracting lithium is US$4,000 per ton, the amount sold to the outside world can be 6 times higher than the extraction cost per ton.
Does everyone support the Salton Sea mining plan to meet America's lithium needs?
Audubon California, a California nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting birds and the natural environment, said that as California's drought becomes increasingly severe, the area of the Salton Sea continues to shrink and water resources are becoming increasingly scarce. Extracting one ton of lithium will consume 50,000 gallons (about 189,000 liters) of water, so lithium mining in the Salton Sea is undoubtedly another blow to local water conservation.
Frank Ruiz, director of the Salton Sea conservation project at the California chapter of the Audubon Society, believes that California has lost 97% of its wetlands due to heavy industrial development and urban expansion. Once lithium mining operations are carried out in the Salton Sea, the important habitats of millions of migratory birds in the area may be destroyed and the wetland ecosystem will be on the verge of collapse.
Despite this, Ruiz doesn't deny that the development of the lithium industry can provide better local employment opportunities and benefit the local community. After all, the area was once a popular California tourist destination in the 1960s, but environmental degradation has led to its gradual decline, with unemployment rates as high as 16%. "Learning to achieve a balance between humans and nature is crucial. Industrial development in the area should be coordinated with local wildlife and environmental groups," Ruiz emphasized.
Ruben Hernandez, who runs a restaurant near the Salton Sea, told PBS that while local residents are certainly concerned about the town's income, what often happens is that "big companies come here, make money, and then leave," keeping all the profits. Even if these companies show they can bring jobs to the local community, they often leave almost no benefits for the local community after they withdraw.
Some residents are also concerned that exposure to toxic dust from the Salton Sea bed has caused the area's air quality to be among the worst in the United States, and the rate of children and teenagers seeking medical treatment for asthma-related diseases is among the highest in the country. If this is coupled with large-scale lithium extraction operations, it may bring even more health hazards to local residents.
EnergySource Minerals CEO Stephen Spomer offered a different view, arguing that the U.S. government's "Inflation Reduction Act of 2022" electric vehicle tax incentives are a catalyst for the development of lithium-ion batteries in the United States. Once the United States can increase its own lithium supply, it will no longer need to import lithium from overseas, let alone use it for processing and refining abroad.
"We have vast lithium reserves, but the United States has long ceded the development advantage to China. Now we are about to gain a competitive advantage. This is a great opportunity for us to become a global leader in the lithium industry. How can we not seize it?" Spomer asked in return.
Why is it important for the United States to mine its own lithium?
Innovation News Network, a British media outlet focusing on new scientific knowledge, explained that many countries around the world are currently committed to achieving their own green energy goals, resulting in a significant increase in demand for the development of energy storage technology, improving the utilization of renewable energy, and increasing the popularity of electric vehicles.
Lithium-ion batteries, which are durable, safe, and have a long life cycle, naturally become an indispensable part of green energy battery research and development technology. Currently, no metal element can replace lithium's key position in the development of green energy.
According to the Lithium Bridge Alliance (Li-Bridge), a joint US public-private partnership, international demand for lithium-ion batteries will increase at least fivefold by 2030 compared to current levels, and demand for lithium will only increase in the future. Given the importance of lithium in green energy technologies, ensuring a stable supply of this element is crucial.
Innovation News Network pointed out that the United States has designated lithium as an important metal element with economic strategic value since 2017, meaning that the acquisition of lithium resources will affect national security and economic development, and that the national demand for lithium-ion batteries will increase by more than six times by 2023. However, the outside world estimates that the United States will still rely on lithium imports for a long time.
According to data released by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), China, a potential competitor of the United States, leads the world in lithium reserves, lithium-ion battery production, and supply. While the United States holds 3.6% of global lithium reserves, its lithium mining and production progress is quite slow, accounting for less than 2% of the global supply. Furthermore, the only lithium-producing region in the United States is Nevada.
From the global outbreak of COVID-19 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, New Coronary Pneumonia, Wuhan Pneumonia) to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the vulnerability of the global supply chain in the face of major events has been highlighted. "Innovation News Network" analyzed that once a similar global event occurs again and causes supply chain disruptions, the United States, which is overly dependent on lithium imports, will become the first major lithium-consuming country to be hit. Therefore, if the United States wants to achieve stable development in the lithium electronics industry, it must give priority to the country's own lithium supply.
Are there other companies investing in lithium mining in the United States like EnergySource Minerals?
Century Lithium, a lithium exploration company headquartered in Canada, is also currently a lithium production participant committed to promoting the development of the electric vehicle and energy storage markets in the United States. According to Innovation News Network, the company owns 100% of the mining rights to the Clayton Valley lithium production project in Nevada, USA. It has discovered a large amount of lithium-rich clay rock east of the Silver Peak Mine, the only lithium mining area in North America owned by Albemarle, the world's largest lithium miner. Century Lithium expects to mine the lithium resources in the area for a long time through low-cost, large-scale operations.
Resource World Magazine, a Canadian magazine focusing on the development of mineral resources and green energy, pointed out that the mines covered by the Clayton Valley lithium production project have a mining life of up to 40 years, with an average productivity of 15,000 tons per day per mine, and can produce 27,400 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) per year.
According to Century Lithium's internal research, if the price of lithium carbonate is calculated at US$9,500 per ton, the internal rate of return (IRR) will reach 25.8%, and the payback period will be 4.4 years. While the company generates profits, it will also continue to meet the growing demand for lithium-ion batteries.
Resource World stated that Century Lithium's chosen location, Clayton Valley, offers ideal environmental conditions for lithium mining. Not only is the valley rich in lithium, but public infrastructure, such as roads and transportation, is also relatively well-developed. Although water resources are relatively scarce in Nevada, Century Lithium owns water rights in Clayton Valley and has pledged to minimize water use, using only for processing lithium-bearing clay rock.
In terms of electricity, Century Lithium is also committed to leasing geothermal power generation areas in Clayton Valley, and is also seeking green energy solutions such as solar power generation to meet the greater electricity demand of future mining operations.
Century Lithium's website also states that since the feasibility study for the Clayton Valley lithium production project began in February 2022, its processing technology has achieved a lithium extraction rate of 83% to 85%. The team has also successfully developed lithium carbonate with a purity of 99.94% and extremely low impurity levels. This purity fully meets the standards for lithium-ion battery production and even meets the quality requirements of enhanced lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles. Century Lithium also emphasized that it will continue to optimize the lithium extraction process to improve the production efficiency of lithium and other key battery materials.
MINING.COM, a global mineral development information platform, believes that the characteristics of lithium-bearing clay rock formations make them easy to mine, which is beneficial to the efficiency of lithium mining operations. Furthermore, Century Lithium already has mining facilities, management, and operating personnel in place, and has obtained government operating permits. Century Lithium is expected to become an emerging but significant player in lithium mining development in the Clayton Valley region, while also providing long-term employment opportunities for numerous local communities in Nevada.
This article is reprinted with permission from Critical Commentary. The original title is "California's inland saltwater lakes are rich in lithium deposits, potentially creating a 'Lithium Valley' to boost the electric vehicle battery market." It is not licensed under the Creative Commons License.
References:
*CBS (May 7, 2023), ‘Lithium Valley’ may provide California with its next gold rush (CBS News)
*Innovation News Network (July 17, 2023), Advancing domestic lithium production for the battery storage market
*PBS (January 24, 2023), Salton Sea lithium deposits could help EV transition, support economic devastated area
*PBS (March 28, 2022), U.S. seeks new lithium sources as demand for clean energy grows
*Resource World Magazine (March 2023), Century Lithium is advancing the Clayton Valley lithium deposit towards a production decision
*MINING.COM (July 6, 2023), Site visit: Unearthing the lithium ‘gold rush’ in Nevada
*Century Lithium,About Century Lithium
Source: Environmental Information Center (https://e-info.org.tw/node/237361)
