Huge impact discovery of $65 billion of 'white gold' under Appalachian Mountains could have on US
It's one of the most important elements for the running of the modern world.
It's the 'white-gold' that powers everything: your mobile phone, laptop, electronic vehicles and e-bikes.
And they've just found gold-mine of the stuff under the Appalachian Mountains that could supply the US with power for centuries.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) has discovered a stash of lithium that is worth around $64.4 billion dollars.
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How much lithium does the US import?
It means the US may no longer have to rely on imports for their batteries.
A statement from Ned Mamula from the USGS said: “This research shows that the Appalachians contain enough lithium to help meet the nation’s growing needs."
This East Coast mountain range houses around 2.5 metric tons of this battery precursor, most of which is concentrated in the Carolinas, Maine and New Hampshire
How is lithium used?
Per Bloomberg, the US imports about half of its lithium.
That could be a figure of the past, as USGS officials suggest that this newly discovered resource could power 130 million electric vehicles and supply 180 billion laptops with power for a thousand years.
The USGS has reported this could replace 328 years of lithium imports, providing a "major contribution to US mineral security, at a time when global lithium demand is rising rapidly."
How did they find the lithium?
To work out how much lithium was present in the hills, the USGBS used geologic maps, tectonic history, geochemical sampling, geophysical surveys and records of mineral occurrences.
By conducting simulations using a global dataset for lithium pegmatites (the rock worth lots of money), they were able to estimated how much lithium there was in the study area.
The team identified 18 different lithium-rich districts in the area.
Why is there so much lithium in Appalachia?
The USGS said that the lithium pegmatites were formed by the same geologic forces that built the mountains more than 250 million years ago.
The statement continued: “The high heat and pressure during the mountain-building caused some of the deeper crustal rocks to melt, and some of these magmas were rich in lithium.
"Because of their immense age, lithium-rich rocks formed during ancient tectonic collisions, when continents slammed together to create the supercontinent Pangea.”
Who produces the world's lithium?
It is projected that world production capacity for lithium will double by 2029, driven by the huge demand of the modern world.
Australia and China are two of the biggest lithium producers on the planet, with Australia producing nearly half the global supply in 2024.
But just three decades ago, the US was the dominant producer of lithium.
It looks like that may become true again soon.
Topics: Technology, Environment
Thomas Bamford