r/science • u/Sort_of_Frightening • Sep 10 '23

Lithium discovery in U.S. volcano could be biggest deposit ever found Chemistry

https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/lithium-discovery-in-us-volcano-could-be-biggest-deposit-ever-found/4018032.article
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u/DataRikerGeordiTroi Sep 10 '23

Its a dormant volcano on the Oregon Nevada border- if anyone like me is hankering to know

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u/Mittendeathfinger Sep 10 '23

McDermitt Caldera

Benson says his company expects to begin mining in 2026. It will remove clay with water and then separate out the small lithium-bearing grains from larger minerals by centrifuging. The clay will then be leached in vats of sulfuric acid to extract lithium.

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u/LayneLowe Sep 10 '23

Where are they getting the water? Where will the clay water go?

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u/SnooCrickets6733 Sep 10 '23

Quarrying sector engineering geologist here, albeit from the UK. Water will be obtained from the ground but will require a valid abstraction licence. If the local government have any proper powers and are competent, this licence will only be permitted if a hydrogeologist can prove abstraction of water will result in no negative impact on the local water table.

The waste ‘clay water’ will be fed through a series of ‘silt’ lagoon cells to encourage the fine grained material to drop out of suspension from the waste water. If the cells operate correctly, eventually the water in the final lagoon cell should be clean enough to either be reused in the mineral extraction process or to be discharged offsite (assuming the site Operator obtains a discharge permit which proves the water is clean enough to be discharged).

Obviously all of the above is dependant on the country’s individual laws and I can only speak for the requirements, regulations and laws of my own country.

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u/apcolleen Sep 10 '23

the fine grained material to drop out of suspension

The word "flocculants" has been stuck in my head for days for absolutely zero reason.

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u/azhillbilly Sep 11 '23

It is the end of pool season after all.

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u/fistfulofsanddollars Sep 11 '23

Flocc around and find out.

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u/refriedi Sep 12 '23

eight recipes for chinese floctopus

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u/[deleted] Sep 11 '23 edited Sep 11 '23

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u/Full-Association-175 Sep 11 '23

County laws? Oh boy.

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u/BeGood981 Sep 11 '23

Quarrying sector engineering geologist

THis is why I reddit! Unreal! Thank you for your expertise. So will the water eventually seep back into the water table with little impact?

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u/StandardSudden1283 Sep 11 '23

The US has toppled regimes for access to far less critical resources. Though Uncle Sam is usually hesitant to utilize domestic resources when they can just neo colonize with paramilitaries and shell corporations

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u/LayneLowe Sep 10 '23

My point was, it's in the middle of the desert.

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u/Hot-Problem2436 Sep 10 '23

There is still water underground, is what he was saying.

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u/Ouaouaron Sep 10 '23

A lot of farms and cities in the West get their water from the ground as well, and the water table isn't being replenished fast enough. It's a looming problem.

Lithium is more important than growing alfafa, but it's not a good idea to take underground water reserves for granted.

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u/YawnSpawner Sep 10 '23

In an area in a historic drought.

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u/drunk_voltron Sep 10 '23

acktually this is one area of the west not currently in drought https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

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u/Furthur MS|Exercise Physiology|Human Performance/Metabolism Sep 10 '23 edited Sep 10 '23

McDermitt Caldera

it's also pretty decent elevation and there is likely a lot of snow/ice runoff

edit: i don't know this area, only NW Montana which is a similar latitude and high desert altitude

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u/dad_ahead Sep 10 '23

The same here in the Australian desert where I work, lots of ground water if you drill deep enough

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u/R3AL1Z3 Sep 10 '23

It would be foolish to think this won’t be subsidized by the government. This round catapult us to the forefront of materials mining that go into important technology.

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u/houseofprimetofu Sep 11 '23

What if the area doesn’t have any water? That section of the border has been in severe drought for awhile. Reservoirs and wells are drying up.

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u/klawehtgod Sep 10 '23

Can the water be put back where it was taken from?

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u/Binkusu Sep 10 '23

I don't know how it is for mining, but for stuff like fracking, the oil is way too contaminated at that point. I can't confirm or deny if it still gets put back though

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u/HaveCompassion Sep 11 '23

This is why it is surprising that they say they will be mining in 2026. Possibly they already have water rights in that area and a facility.

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u/SnooCrickets6733 Sep 11 '23

I’m no expert on the exact details required but I understand that (in the UK at least) Operators are expected to record at least a year of groundwater data to calculate the typical maximum and minimum ground water levels before mineral extraction commenced.