A team of geologists say they may have found the world's largest lithium deposit in the world inside an extinct volcano in Nevada.
Map showing type and relative size of global lithium resources. Current production is predominantly spodumene from pegmatites in Australia and brines underlying salt flats in Chile , China , and Argentina . Credit: Benson, et al.
An analysis found that an unusual claystone, composed of the mineral illite, contains 1.3% to 2.4% of lithium in the volcanic crater. This is almost double the amount present in magnesium smectite, which is more common than illite. A lake subsequently formed in the crater, persisting for hundreds of thousands of years with weathered volcanic and surrounding materials forming a sediment rich in clay at its bottom. The new analysis suggested that after the lake emptied, another bout of volcanism exposed the sediments to a hot, alkaline brine, rich in lithium and potassium.
The material could be best described as looking “a bit like brown potter’s clay,” said Christopher Henry, emeritus professor of geology at the University of Nevada in Reno. :It is extremely uninteresting except that it has so much lithium in it. There’s been a lot of searching for additional deposits,” Henry added. “The United States currently has just one small lithium producing brine operation in Nevada.”Benson says his company expects to begin mining in 2026.
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