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A new study led by the US Geological Survey (USGS) found a large amount lithium reserves in southwest Arkansas that could help meet the growing demand for lithium in electric vehicle batteries.
The USGS worked with the Arkansas Department of Energy and the State Geological Survey to test a geological unit known as the Smackover Formation to determine the amount of lithium in brines produced during oil and gas exploration.
Research estimates that there are between 5 and 19 million tons of lithium reserves in formation. Although that estimate was based on the amount of lithium in place and did not assess how much of it is technically recoverable, if reserves are not recovered through sales, a lower estimate of 5 million tons would be enough to meet the world’s proposed 2030 estimate. search lithium batteries for electric vehicles nine times.
Lithium is a critical mineral that has seen an increase in 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 maintaining the power grid.
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US Geological Survey map of the Smackover Formation and area taken from the USGS lithium study. (US Geological Survey / Public Domain / Fox News)
“Our study was able to estimate the total lithium present in the southwestern part of Smackover in Arkansas for the first time. We estimate that there is enough dissolved lithium present in that region to replace the US lithium imports and more,” said Katherine Knierim, a hydrologist and principal investigator of the study.
“It is important to note that these measurements are internal tests. We have not yet estimated what can be technically recovered based on new methods of extracting lithium from salt water,” said Knierim.
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A worker demonstrates how lithium is recovered from brine at the Standard Lithium facility in El Dorado, Arkansas, on July 20, 2023. (Photographer: Rachel Boillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The USGS used machine learning, a type of artificial intelligence (AI)for analysis of samples from the Smackover Formation compared to USGS databases of liquor and water samples from hydrocarbon production.
A machine learning model then uses that data to predict lithium concentrations across the region and generate maps, even for areas where lithium samples were not collected.
“Lithium is an essential mineral change of powerand the possibility of increased US manufacturing instead of imports has implications for employment, productivity and supply chain strengthening. This study demonstrates the importance 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 were separated at the Standard Lithium facility in El Dorado, Arkansas, July 20, 2023. A number of firms aim to prove doubters wrong as they push ahead with new lithium extraction . (Photographer: Rachel Boillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The US currently imports more than 25% of its lithium. The USGS report noted that from 2019 to 2022, US lithium imports came mainly from Argentina (51%) and Chile (43%), with much smaller amounts imported from China (3% ) and Russia (2%).
Australia’s lithium mines are the most productive in the world, followed by Chile and China, according to the USGS report. The world’s largest lithium reserves are 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 Jan. 2024. By comparison, US reserves were 1.1 million tons of lithium.
Estimated lithium resources in the report were 14 million tons in the US, less than Bolivia’s 23 million tons and Argentina’s 22 million tons — though that figure exceeded Chile’s 11 million tons, 8.7 million tons in Australia and China’s 6.8 million tonnes.
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The USGS report noted that worldwide, the final use of lithium is batteries (87%), followed by ceramics and glass (4%), lubricants (2%), air treatment (1%), mold mold flux powders ongoing. (1%), treatment (1%) and other uses (4%).
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