A report on the current state of domestic lithium exploration & production in the United States
Accelerated domestic materials production is required for net zero, particularly for lithium and other critical metals.
In an effort to reduce global carbon emissions, the world is shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Storage of energy for future electric cars, devices and other infrastructures requires lithium, the prized component to build batteries (among other components).
As of Q1 2022, the US provides less than 1% of the global lithium supply with only one operating mine in Clayton Valley, Nevada, which produces lithium from evaporation ponds. In May 2018, the US officially classified lithium as essential to economic and national security and is looking to companies to provide a domestic supply solution for this resource.
Both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump supported efforts to increase lithium production to reduce the current US dependence on foreign countries. With the projected worldwide demand for lithium being forecasted to exceed supply, the US wants to solidify infrastructure required to expand lithium production domestically to meet this agenda.
While traditional methods still largely dominate the market, several US firms are developing and exploring novel methods to produce lithium.
Worldwide lithium demand and supply
Source: The Economist, Governments have identified commodities essential to economic and military security, March 31, 2021 (10)
The price of metals used for battery components such as lithium and cobalt have increased by about two-thirds and a third, respectively in the past year. Copper has also reached a record, partially due to its importance as a commodity in the energy transition; the price of carbon in Europe reached record highs as well.
There are several lithium extraction operations being developed across the US to advance domestic supply using various production methods
The total identified lithium reserves in the United States amount to 9.1 million tons, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Lithium resources are generally found either from geothermal brine in salt flats or hard rocks surrounded by high mountains in remote areas, where there was significant prehistoric volcanic and oceanic activity. Geothermal brine is a hot, concentrated saline solution that has circulated through very hot rocks and become enriched with elements such as lithium, boron and potassium.
Current US deposits for lithium hard rock are found in Rhyolite Ridge, Thacker Pass, Carolina Tin and Plumbago Mountain. Lithium brine deposits include Salton Sea, Ogden Salt Lake and the Arkansas Smackover region.
Source: Easie team
Some methods to extract lithium are environmentally destructive, specifically mining and evaporation ponds. Due to the rapidly growing demand and limited domestic supply for lithium, traditional mining and evaporation ponds remain a major source of production for US extraction in 2022.
Method 1: Traditional hard surface rock pit mining
The primary traditional extraction method is hard surface rock pit mining, which is prominent due to proven processes, systems, specialized machinery, sophisticated high-end equipment and established infrastructure from other past open pit mine projects. The rock pits require a chemical processing plant and locations to dispose of the resulting hazardous waste byproducts according to EPA requirements.
Like other pit mining projects, mining is quite destructive as extracting earth from a mountainside or other terrain disrupts the natural landscape and wildlife habitat. Some companies are planning to minimize their impact by incrementally digging sites and subsequently filling and restoring them before moving onto the next extraction site.
Clay mixtures containing lithium are dug out from the mountainside and water is used to dissolve the surrounding clay. This process consumes thousands of gallons of water per minute and many firms are trying to minimize the impact of water consumption by recycling used water back into their plants.
The remaining lithium and clay mixture is then further dissolved using sulfuric acid to separate the lithium from the remaining clay. Sulfuric acid is generally produced on site, with trucks transporting thousands of tons of hot molten sulfur daily, which is then burned, chemically processed and converted into sulfuric acid. Like recycled water, steam generated from burning molten sulfuric acid can be used to generate electricity to supply back into their processing plants.
Various stakeholders including tribal nations, ranchers and environmental groups have made efforts to stop mining projects. Several of these groups also expressed concerns that pollution and mining byproducts would spread beyond designated sites, contaminate essential groundwater and cause water shortages that affect supply for livestock and crops due to diversion of water resources for lithium production.
On February 22, 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration released a framework for domestic mining reform to provide guidance on responsible sourcing of minerals on federal land. Some highlights from these new guidelines provide that mines must take into consideration:
Environmental justice in providing the safety of workers, operations and the community.
Considerations and consultation with tribal nations and local communities to ensure their knowledge and expertise are considered and included in the process.
Ensure protection of the environment during exploration, discovery, active mining, reclamation and post-closure.
Traceability of minerals from foreign sources.
Prioritize methods of recycling mining waste products such as mine tailings, mine influenced waters and coal ash.
Royalties for minerals extracted from public land should return to the local taxpayer and tribal communities by being invested to improve environmental and economic outcomes for underserved communities, minimize environmental impacts, and advance efficient clean mining and remediation technologies.
Adaptive reuse by reclaiming abandoned hardrock sites and mine and extraction of minerals from legacy mine wastes.
Planning, assessment and mine approval and permitting by federal agencies in a “timely, transparent and sufficient” manner.
Improve and establish interagency communication and cooperation during environment review, planning and permitting.
Establishment of protected areas off-limits to mining and mining impacts.
Alongside these new guidelines, the US Department of Interior has announced they will launch a new interagency working group on reforming domestic mining laws, regulations and permitting policies in the US. This group will be responsible for making recommendations for improvements to ensure new mining operations are consistent with the Biden-Harris Administrations mining reform guidelines. In the coming months, this group will have a series of roundtable discussions open to comments and feedback from various groups such as tribal nations, government, labor organizations, scientists and others.
Method 2: Extraction from brine evaporation ponds
A second method involves extracting lithium from brine evaporation ponds. Brine is pumped from deep in the ground into surface ponds, which lay dormant for about two years for the sun to evaporate water before the concentrated lithium is collected. The process to purify the lithium is complex and inefficient, leading to only approximately 30% efficiency in extraction of lithium.
With water being left to evaporate over time and massive space needed for these ponds, this method is not sustainable either. Ideas are being explored to make these processes better, such as creating filtration membranes to encourage the flow of lithium ions into the ponds while slowing other minerals or covering the surface of the ponds with a porous charcoal material that converts sunlight into heat to encourage faster evaporation.
Method 3: Direct lithium extraction
The third is direct lithium extraction (DLE) from heated mineral laden water passing through connected geothermal plants. Direct extraction is difficult and wears systems down quickly due to the corrosive nature of the brine. As early as the 1970s, companies focusing on extracting lithium from the Salton Sea were filing patents on their DLE technology, however many past companies have failed to make this process commercially viable at scale.
Recently, some firms have claimed to have created unique and better direct lithium extraction technology, notably lithium-ion exchange beads and other advanced filtration systems. Much of this newly developed technology remains proprietary and protected by company-owned patents. These firms also claim to be establishing supply chains to manufacture and deploy these new extraction technologies on a commercial scale in the near future.
It is estimated that brine from the Salton Sea alone could produce up to 40% of the lithium used by the world
In 2020, in hopes to ensure success of lithium extraction from the Salton Sea, the California Energy Commission (CEC) formed The California Lithium Valley Commission consisting of fourteen representatives from companies, government, residents and tribal nations to ensure that environment, education, jobs and other critical needs from the local community are taken into account against development of lithium resources in the Lithium Valley. The Commission has been tasked with compiling a summary of its findings and recommendations by October 1, 2022 in compliance with California bill AB 1657.
AB 1657 outlines several requirements for the California Lithium Valley Commission including environmental standards, tax implication, potential incentive analysis and other issues.
Method 4: recycling end-of-life lithium batteries
A fourth method involves recycling end-of-life batteries and extracting critical components for reuse, including lithium. Due to the hazardous nature of batteries, they cannot be disposed of in a landfill, ocean or shredded without care. The process of recycling these batteries generally involves the following steps:
1. Safe collecting and receiving of battery shipments from various electronic products, business partners and consumers.
2. Process using chemical and physical treatment to refine, purify and separate batteries into base recoverable metals: ie: Lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper. Freezing using liquid nitrogen and then crushing the batteries followed by a chemical separation process is a common method for recycling lithium batteries.
3. Ship recovered materials to manufacturers to convert into new battery products to reintroduce back into the market.
Currently, mining is still the most cost effective way to produce lithium in the US. Recycling alone will not produce the supply required for future lithium demand. It is estimated that there are about 25 North American and European companies that recycle lithium batteries or plan to do so.
With the anticipation of more inventory coming from end-of-life batteries from EVs and other electronics, recycling companies are planning to expand operations and continue developing/improving their processes in purifying and recovering these materials.
US Companies are making breakthrough discoveries and receiving significant investment from automakers and venture capital firms to support their continued lithium extraction efforts
Berkshire Hathaway Energy - Des Moines, IA
Berkshire Hathaway Energy actively pursues legislative and regulatory policy to help spur energy innovation and advance the deployment of low-carbon solutions to exceed our customer’s energy needs. Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s partnership with the US Department of Energy will result in a demonstration facility in California to extract lithium from geothermal brine, and recent federal legislative action supporting wind and solar development will reduce emissions and help keep prices low for our customers.
Geothermal power generation uses the natural heat of the earth to make electricity for homes and businesses. Berkshire Hathaway Energy has several companies that use or produce geothermal energy. For example, in California’s Imperial Valley, BHE Renewables, operating as CalEnergy, owns 10 facilities that produce electricity solely from naturally occurring steam. They do this with geothermal production wells that tap into superheated water reservoirs thousands of feet beneath the earth’s surface to release tremendous pressure, which rushes to the surface. Once above ground, the steam is separated and used to drive turbines that generate electricity.
Controlled Thermal Resources LLC - Imperial, CA
Controlled Thermal Resources Limited, through its project companies, provides lithium products and renewable energy with projects in advanced development in the United States. The public unlisted company was established in 2013 and has headquarters in Imperial Valley, California, USA and Brisbane, Australia.
CTR’s leadership team has successfully developed and managed world-scale renewable energy projects in the Salton Sea region for over 20 years. This location-specific, highly specialized experience has been instrumental in advancing CTR’s projects.
CTR is committed to delivering sustainable, low cost lithium products and renewable power to support California’s clean energy initiatives and to ensure a secure and socially responsible lithium product supply chain.
EnergySource Minerals - San Diego, CA
Headquartered in Southern California, EnergySource Minerals was formed to develop mineral recovery projects in the Salton Sea resource area, one of the largest and highest temperature brine resources in the world, and to deploy its ILiAD technology platform globally. Its projects are being advanced by a team with extensive experience in every stage of mineral project development: project origination, permitting, hydrometallurgical separations, battery supply chain, project financing and operations.
Li-Cycle Corp. - Toronto, ON
Li-Cycle Corp.(Li-Cycle) is on a mission to leverage its innovative Spoke & Hub Technologiesto provide a customer-centric,end-of-life solution for lithium-ion batteries, while creating a secondary supply of critical battery materials. Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries are increasingly powering our world in automotive, energy storage, consumer electronics,and other industrial and household applications. The world needs improved technology and supply chain innovations to better manage the end-of-life of these batteries–and to meet the rapidly growing demand for critical and scarce battery-grade materials through a closed-loop solution.Learn more at www.Li-Cycle.com.
Lilac Solutions - Oakland, CA
Lilac Solutions is a lithium extraction technology company based in Oakland, California. Lilac has developed a patented ion exchange technology that facilitates production of lithium from brine resources with high efficiency, minimal cost and ultra-low environmental footprint. Lilac's mission is to scale global lithium production to support the electric vehicle transition and renewable energy storage transition.
Lithium Americas - Vancouver, BC
Lithium Americas is focused on advancing lithium projects in Argentina and the United States to production. In Argentina, Caucharí-Olaroz is advancing towards first production as the largest new brine operation in over 20 years and Pastos Grandes, in proximity to Caucharí-Olaroz, represents regional growth. Thacker Pass in northern Nevada, the largest-known lithium resource in the US, has received its Record of Decision from the Bureau of Land Management and is advancing towards construction. The company trades on both the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: LAC) and on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: LAC).
Piedmont Lithium - Belmont, NC
Piedmont Lithium is developing a world-class, multi-asset, integrated lithium business focused on enabling the transition to a net zero world and the creation of a clean energy economy in North America. The centerpiece of our operations, located in the renowned Carolina Tin Spodumene Belt of North Carolina, when combined with equally strategic and in-demand mineral resources, and production assets in Quebec, and Ghana, positions us to be one of the largest, lowest cost, most sustainable producers of battery-grade lithium hydroxide in the world. We will also be strategically located to best serve the fast-growing North American electric vehicle supply chain. The unique geology, geography and proximity of our resources, production operations and customer base, will allow us to deliver valuable continuity of supply of a high-quality, sustainably produced lithium hydroxide from spodumene concentrate, preferred by most EV manufacturers. Our planned diversified operations should enable us to play a pivotal role in supporting America’s move toward decarbonization and the electrification of transportation and energy storage. As a member of organizations like the International Responsible Mining Association, and the Zero Emissions Transportation Association, we are committed to protecting and preserving our planet for future generations, and to making economic and social contributions to the communities we serve.
Redwood Materials - Carson City, NV
Redwood Materials was founded by J.B. Straubel, who was co-founder and served as chief technical officer at Tesla, Inc. for 16 years. Redwood is creating a circular supply chain for electric vehicles and clean energy products, making them more sustainable long term and driving down the cost for batteries by developing a fully closed-loop for lithium-ion batteries. Redwood recycles, refines, and remanufactures lithium-ion batteries into sustainable materials that can be returned to US cell manufacturers.
How Easie can help
Easie is a consulting firm with experience in 40 different knowledge areas and is offering B2B services to support the development of a domestic supply chain for lithium resources in the US.
In addition to environmental compliance and engineering services, Easie can support diverse technical projects including in operational excellence, permitting, logistics, field services, automation, machine learning, computer vision, software, cybersecurity, design, research and other complex project management as well as technical training and e-learning program development.
Easie founder Rock Vitale has deep experience with lithium batteries, international supply chain management, battery recycling and dangerous goods transportation. Rock has participated in recycling over 150 tons of end-of-life lithium batteries worldwide since 2012 in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
Easie founder Rock Vitale in Port Harcourt, Nigeria working collaboratively with a local team to ship industrial end-of-life lithium batteries for recycling in Canada
Easie can also help you with your lithium battery recycling operation and logistics for shipping lithium batteries in compliance.
“Lithium is a key resource and the U.S. needs to expedite its position and protect itself to be self-reliant, extracted in a manner with minimal socio-environmental impact and needs assurances that the local community are provided with their fair share of development funding, jobs, community infrastructures, and other benefits from these projects," says Rock Vitale, CEO and founder of Easie.
Rock continues, "I’ve worked as a subject matter expert in the field of lithium metal batteries for the oil and gas industry as well as dangerous goods transportation internationally and seeing these new developments happening in our backyard is very exciting. As a service provider for all business needs, we’re offering our B2B services to support companies focused on tackling our domestic sourcing of lithium to make sustainable and responsible advancements towards our transition away from fossil fuels.”
Easie is a consulting firm for all business needs. Schedule a free consultation with our team.
Citations
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/05/18/2018-10667/final-list-of-critical-minerals-2018
https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/imap/5d0baffce4b0e3d31162044c
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/06/business/lithium-mining-race.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/15/how-the-us-fell-way-behind-in-lithium-white-gold-for-evs.html
https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2022/mcs2022-lithium.pdf
https://mrdata.usgs.gov/earthmri/focus-areas/show-focus.php?id=NE017&f=html
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB1657
This article was edited by Rock W. Vitale.