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A new study led by the US Geological Survey (USGS) discovered a large amount of lithium reserves in southwest Arkansas that could help meet the growing demand for lithium in electric vehicle car batteries.
The USGS worked with the Arkansas Department of Energy and the State Geologist’s Office of the Environment to examine a geologic unit known as the Smackover Formation to determine the amount of lithium in brines co-produced during oil and gas exploration.
The study estimated that there are between 5 million and 19 million tonnes of lithium reserves present in the formation. While this estimate was of the amount of lithium in place and did not estimate how much of this is technically recoverable, if the reserves can be recovered commercially, the low-end estimate of 5 million tonnes would be enough to meet the world’s projected year of year 2030. demand for lithium batteries in electric vehicles nine times more.
Lithium is a critical mineral that has seen increased global demand in recent years, a trend that is expected to continue as the transition from fossil fuels to electric and hybrid vehicles accelerates in the coming years given its use in rechargeable EV batteries. The mineral is also used in the production of glass and aluminum products, and can be found in portable electronics, power tools, and has applications in power grid storage.
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A US Geological Survey map shows the Smackover Formation and the area sampled in the USGS lithium survey. (US Geological Survey/Public Domain/Fox News)
“Our research was able to estimate the total lithium present in the southwestern portion of Smackover in Arkansas for the first time. We estimate that there is enough dissolved lithium present in that region to replace US lithium imports and more,” said Katherine Knierim, a. hydrologist and principal investigator of the study.
“It is important to be careful that these estimates are an in-situ estimate. We have not estimated what is technically recoverable based on the latest methods for extracting lithium from brine,” Knierim added.
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A worker demonstrates how lithium is extracted from brine at a standard lithium facility in El Dorado, Ark., on July 20, 2023. (Rachel Boillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The USGS used machine learning, sort of artificial intelligence (AI)to analyze samples from the Smackover Formation that he compared to USGS databases of brine and hydrocarbon production water samples.
The machine learning model then used that data to predict lithium concentrations across the region and generate maps, even of areas from which lithium samples have not been collected.
“Lithium is a critical mineral for energy transitionand the potential for increased US manufacturing to replace imports has implications for employment, production and supply chain sustainability. This study illustrates the value of science in addressing important economic issues,” said USGS Director David Applegate.
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A worker holds containers of brine, left, and lithium after the two are separated at a standard lithium facility in El Dorado, Ark., on July 20, 2023. Dozens of firms aim to prove skeptics wrong as they push ahead with new lithium take me out (Rachel Boillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The US currently imports more than 25% of its lithium. A USGS report noted that from 2019 to 2022, US lithium imports came primarily from Argentina (51%) and Chile (43%), with significantly smaller amounts imported from China (3%) and Russia (2%).
Australia’s lithium mines were the most productive in the world, followed by Chile and China, according to the USGS report. The world’s largest lithium reserves were Chile with 9.3 million tons, Australia with 6.2 million tons, Argentina with 3.6 million tons and China with 3 million tons, according to the January 2024 report. By comparison, US reserves were 1.1 million tons of lithium.
Measured and indicated lithium resources in the report were 14 million tons for the U.S., less than Bolivia’s 23 million tons and Argentina’s 22 million tons, although this figure exceeded Chile’s 11 million tons, the 8.7 million tons of Australia and 6.8 million tons of China.
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The USGS report noted that worldwide, the main end use of lithium is for batteries (87%), followed by ceramics and glass (4%), lubricating greases (2%), air handling (1%), mold flux continuous casting powders. (1%), medical (1%) and other uses (4%).