Lithium deposit found in US McDermitt Caldera

A lithium deposit discovered in a volcanic crater along the Nevada-Oregon border may hold up to 40 million metric tons of the rare metal — possibly the largest ever in the world, which could have a massive impact on the electric vehicle industry, according to a new study.

The deposit hidden within the McDermitt Caldera is estimated to hold between 20 million and 40 million metric tons, which would be nearly double the current record of about 23 million metric tons found over the summer beneath a Bolivian salt flat, researchers reported in Science Advances.

It would also greatly boost America’s overall lithium reserves, which were previously estimated at a paltry 1 million metric tons.

Belgian geologist Anouk Borst said that if the estimate proves true, the sudden overabundance of American lithium — the metal sought after by electric vehicle makers — could have global impacts.

“It could change the dynamics of lithium globally, in terms of price, security of supply and geopolitics,” Borst told Chemistry World. “The US would have its own supply of lithium and industries would be less scared about supply shortages.”

Electric vehicle makers have bemoaned estimates that “white gold” supplies will fall short by 2025, with China, the US and several South American countries vying to locate large deposits to meet the increasing demand.

Paul A. Jacobson, GM’s chief financial officer, told investors mid-June that they “already have that risk” of not getting enough lithium, explaining that GM has bought stakes in mining operations.

“We’ve got to have partnerships with people that can get us the lithium in the form that we need,” Jacobson said.

The rush to acquire the white gold has also been exacerbated by President Biden’s clean energy agenda, which calls for EVs to make up about 50% of all cars sold by 2030.

The administration has pushed for investing $7.5 billion in EV charging stations around the nation.  

Thomas Benson, a geologist at Lithium Americas Corporation who co-wrote the new study, expects that mining can begin at the McDermitt Caldera by 2026.

Researchers from the Lithium Americas Corporation, GNS Science, and Oregon State University explained that the unique conditions of the McDermitt Caldera’s explosions 16 million years ago created the ideal state for lithium-rich particles to form.

Nevada itself has been a hotbed for lithium deposits, but the sites have seen opposition, with conservationists, Indigenous Americans and even NASA pushing to block mining in the area.  

The McDermitt Caldera mine is located beside the Thacker Pass mine, which has seen protests from the native Paiutes tribe and court challenges over the last three years.

Meanwhile, NASA voiced its opposition in June to mining the Railroad Valley tabletop flat because its undisturbed standing is key to calibrating the measurements of hundreds of satellites orbiting the Earth.

With Post wires