With estimated reserves of 15 million tons, this is the largest “white gold” mine in the world. This resource is very necessary for the development of the current electric vehicle industry.
Accordingly, deep at the bottom of Salton Lake, the largest saltwater lake in California (USA), experts discovered a giant mine of “white gold”. This “white gold” is lithium, a silver-white metal. This is also an important ingredient to make lithium batteries, the type of battery found in phones, electric cars, televisions…
Ms. Maria Nava-Froelich, mayor of the city of Calipatria, California, is observing mud bubbles emerging at the edge of Salton Lake, which draws water from the gradually drying Colorado River.
In fact, Salton Lake, California’s largest saltwater lake, is gradually shrinking. This causes the amount of toxic pesticides that have accumulated in the water to spread out, leading to the threat of destroying fish and bird species in the area. In particular, this also increases the risk of cancer among local people.
Ms. Maria Nava-Froelich, mayor of the city of Calipatria. Photo: SCMP
But deep below this salty lake is a “treasure”. It is a giant lithium mine located more than 1 mile deep beneath geothermal mud in the desert north of Mexico and east of the city of San Diego. According to experts, if exploited on a large scale, this lithium mine has enough reserves to meet the needs of the entire United States and can even be exported.
This makes Ms. Nava-Froelich and other people living in poverty in Imperial County dream of a new gold rush in California, in a context where it is difficult for the United States to convince China to relax restrictions on gold production. lithium export.
Ms. Nava-Froelich said: “We are excited about the underground lithium reserves. This resource can help other countries and improve our lives, helping America no longer be dependent.”
In fact, global demand for lithium, the metal used to make batteries for electric vehicles and jets, is expected to increase fivefold by 2030.
Lithium mining is not easy
Under Lake Salton there is a huge lithium reserve that can supply the entire United States. Photo: Reuters
With estimated reserves of 15 million tons, Imperial Valley is the largest saltwater lake lithium mine in the world. Although it is easier to mine lithium in this valley because the process of extracting the resource underground is already done by geothermal power plants in this area.
Accordingly, mot lithium mining plants will be provided with geothermal energy. This is a renewable energy source exploited after termite water is brought up from the ground and converted into steam to turn turbines. But large-scale extraction of lithium reserves has not yet been tested here.
Furthermore, the US and many other Western countries still have many stricter environmental protection regulations than China, the leading lithium refining country in the world.
However, engineers say the lithium mining process in the Imperial Valley has many special advantages because it is carried out in the valley floor, so it will have little impact on the environment. On the other hand, the mining process uses less water and electricity than open pit mines, or using salt water evaporation in lakes.
On the market, the price of lithium carbonate reached a record level of 86,000 USD/ton in November 2022. This is a very high price compared to only 6,000 USD/ton about 10 years ago.
Today, China’s dominance of lithium forces the United States to race to find a foothold in the industry. The International Energy Agency said that Beijing currently controls three-fifths of the world’s lithium supply and accounts for three-quarters of lithium-ion battery production. This type of battery is being used on car models from Tesla, BMV, Ford, VinFast… Lithium-ion batteries have many advantages such as high durability, large storage capacity, and do not pollute the environment…
Lithium-ion batteries are currently used by many electric vehicle companies around the world. Illustration
In the United States, there are a number of other lithium ores discovered in states such as Nevada, Arkansas, North Carolina and Utah. However, the only mine currently operating in the state of Nevada accounts for less than 1% of global production.
According to experts, finding lithium ore mines in the US is easy. But the bigger challenge is building an industry from scratch, which involves harnessing technology, investing in state and federal projects, funding research, and reducing taxes.
In addition, the global battery supply chain is estimated to need $514 billion by 2030 to meet expected demand. In particular, the concern is that the United States also faces more environmental restrictions and community reactions than China, especially when it comes to lithium processing.
Experts say the current focus is on exploiting lithium before pumping brine from deep underground to spin turbines and produce electricity.
Currently, three geothermal companies, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Controlled Thermal Resources and EnergySource Minerals, are conducting pilot projects. In particular, EnergySource company is expected to start construction of a large-scale lithium extraction plant in 2023. According to predictions, the above three companies are expected to produce 100,000 tons of lithium per year by 2027. , enough to supply 50,000 electric vehicles, and especially towards the annual exploitation target set by the US of 600,000 tons.
With the above optimistic outlook, a geochemist at California State University in Riverside commented: “I would not be surprised if five years from now the United States becomes one of the leading lithium producers in the world.” “.
