A lithium find in the McDermitt Caldera region on the border between US states of Oregon and Nevada has excited media attentions with the promise of lithium deposits exceeding those in Bolivia, which make up nearly a quarter of the world’s resources.
Abandoned mining complex property, buildings and tower in McDermitt, Nevada
As the element is vital to the greening of the world economy, particularly in electric vehicles, attention has been focused on lithium, with major gas and oil companies now joining the search for deposits.
Reported in a paper in the US journal Science Advances at the end of August, the western US caldera find has now captured the attention of mainstream media, with Fox Business reporting that “it is believed that the caldera contains around 20 to 40 million metric tons of lithium – a figure that would dwarf deposits in Chile and Australia.”
Bolivia is home to 21 million tonnes out of the 89 million tonnes that make up the world’s known lithium resources and has become a focus for those concerned about the security of supply of the chemical necessary for relatively light-weight rechargeable batteries.
The recent paper said estimates suggested there could be between 20 to 40 million tonnes of lithium contained within sediments of the whole McDermitt caldera, with the maximum likely amount set at 120 million tonnes buried in the collapsed volcano crater.
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