The United States may have found an answer at home to its industry’s growing thirst for lithium, especially electric cars: Some researchers have actually found what may be the largest reserve in the McDermitt Caldera on the border of Nevada and Oregon. The amount of “white gold” discovered so far. According to research published on Science DevelopmentsThis deposit may contain between 20 and 40 million tonnes of lithium; This figure is almost twice the amount discovered in Bolivia this summer.
According to geologist Anouk Borst, this discovery “could change the global dynamics of lithium in terms of price, supply security and geopolitics. The US will have its own lithium supply and industries will be less afraid of supply shortages.”
Currently, almost all lithium production is concentrated in four countries: Australia (47%), Chile (30%), China (15%) and Argentina (5%). The United States can count on good relations with Canberra, while the European Union recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Chile. But both Washington and Brussels are trying to avoid dependence on foreign countries for supplies that are so strategic for the future. The EU is working on a strategy that, among other things, provides incentives for the opening of new mines of critical materials, including lithium. The countries estimated to have the most interesting reserves in the block are Germany, the Czech Republic, Spain and Portugal. But none of these can compete with those discovered so far in the McDermitt Caldera (overall, estimated European reserves are just over 5 million tonnes).
For the US industry, this discovery is a breath of fresh air. Last June, Paul A. Jacobson, chief financial officer of General Motors, sounded the alarm by raising the imminent “risk” of lithium shortages in electric vehicle production. Today, U.S. production of this material is stuck at 1% globally, but officials estimate that 12% of the world’s deposits can be found on U.S. soil.
The problem is that opening and operating a mine is not easy. The only mine currently in operation is located just a stone’s throw from the newly discovered deposit. This is the Thacker Pass mine, which has been at the center of environmental protests for years.
Even NASA opposes increased mining activities in this area, which is considered essential for calibrating measurements of hundreds of satellites in Earth orbit. Despite this, Litihum Americas, which is owned by General Motors and has exclusivity in the field, aims to start production in the second half of 2026.
Continue reading today
Source: Today IT
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
