A late-October United States Geological Survey (USGS) study found a huge lithium reserve in southwestern Arkansas. The government agency says the area has between 5 and 19 million tons of lithium. If commercially recoverable, it could meet the projected demand for lithium in electric vehicle (EV) batteries — it could reach demand “nine times over.”
The USGS and Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment’s Office of the State Geologist discovered the lithium in the Smackover Foundation. This is the geologic remains of an ancient sea dating back to the Jurassic period. It stretches into parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida.
The area is known as an oil and bromine extraction area, but in recent years, lithium in brines has been pulled from deep salt deposits.
Brine is high-salinity water that is usually a waste product of refining materials, humanmade or natural.
“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,” David Applegate, USGS director, said in a news release. “This study illustrates the value of science in addressing economically important issues.”
The study published in the Science Advances journal says Arkansas could contain up to 136% of U.S. lithium sources, estimating that 5,000 tons of dissolved lithium were brought to the surface from oil, gas, and bromine industrial practices. However, scientists have yet to figure out how to extract it properly. Lithium extraction typically involves open-pit drilling and using evaporation pools, but these are timely and harmful to the planet.
Photo Courtesy Science Advances
One method that may be considered is direct lithium extraction. Brine is pumped to the surface, and then critical minerals are extracted before the water is returned underground. It could be more climate-friendly, although scientists aren’t 100% sure if it is better.
ExxonMobil is the largest landowner in the Smackover Foundation. More than 120,000 acres are used for the oil and gas company’s operations, mainly for fossil fuel extraction. It has done some direct lithium extraction in the area. The New York Times reported Exxon wants to have lithium extraction entering production in 2027 and have enough lithium to supply 1 million EV batteries by 2030.
“Our research was able to estimate total lithium present in the southwestern portion of the Smackover in Arkansas for the first time,” Katherine Knierim, a hydrologist and the study’s principal researcher, said in the news release.
“We estimate there is enough dissolved lithium present in that region to replace U.S. imports of lithium and more.”
“It is important to caution that these estimates are an in-place assessment,” she continued. “We have not estimated what is technically recoverable based on newer methods to extract lithium from brines.”
Questions about landowners’ royalty rates around the lithium extraction have been raised. Five companies currently have mineral rights in southern Arkansas, including Exxon and Standard Lithium. According to the Arkansas Times, landowners have contacted regulators about the companies’ royalty rates proposal, claiming that it would “illegally skirt the state’s rulemaking process.”
Photo Courtesy Standard Lithium
Nevertheless, this is massive news for the American EV industry. For a long time, many analysts said reliance on foreign lithium imports would slow EV production. These deposits could change that dramatically. The U.S. would have access to one of, if not the largest, lithium reserves worldwide. The U.S. currently relies on 25% imported lithium for its EV production.
There are lingering concerns, especially over the environmental toll this may have. However, if direct lithium extraction can be proven to be less dangerous to the Earth, the U.S. might become a top lithium producer.
