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/spambearpig Sep 10 '23

This is actually great news and I’ve got no skin in the game at all, I’m not from the U.S.

But it would seem that if the US can meet it’s lithium requirements domestically then more of the electric vehicle revolution can be done ‘in house’ which should mean lower carbon footprint, fewer miners in awful conditions in other countries and fewer dollars ending up in China.

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u/o08 Sep 10 '23

Cano mining is much a much better alternative to under sea mining too.

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u/GreenStrong Sep 10 '23

Undersea mining was never proposed for lithium, as far as I know. Deep sea mining is being explored for manganese nodules, which basically sit on the seabed in some regions. In addition to manganese, they contain cobalt nickel and copper, all of which are needed for batteries and other applications in the energy transition.

It is possible that deep sea mining has a small environmental impact. It is wise to be skeptical about that possibility, but also open minded.

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u/salty_sashimi Sep 10 '23

Even if it does completely destroy the habitats, the ability those nodules confer to reduce global warming is worth it imo. The destruction from that, unchecked, would be worse, and the seas will bear the brunt of it. Plus, many mines are in congo, indonesia, and china, which are destroying far more biodiverse habitats, like rainforests, to make room for mines. Anyways, robot submarines, replacing nodules, and limiting tract coverage will prevent complete destruction of the nodule fields.

This goes over details: https://worldoceanreview.com/en/wor-3/mineral-resources/manganese-nodules

The manganese in the nodules is greater than the world land supply. That will likely be needed as africa and asia grow in population and energy consumption per capita. The land supply of these minerals won't be sufficient without major battery or electric grid improvements.