$65B lithium mother lode hidden beneath Appalachian Mountains could supply US with power for centuries

In a new report from the U.S. Geological Survey, geologists have announced that the Appalachian Mountains could be hiding a sprawling multibillion-dollar cache of lithium that could last the U.S. hundreds of years.

“This research shows that the Appalachians contain enough lithium to help meet the nation’s growing needs,” declared US Geological Survey Director Ned Mamula in a statement.

According to a map by the USGS, this East Coast mountain range houses around 2.5 metric tons of this battery precursor*, most of which is concentrated in the Carolinas, Maine and New Hampshire. Total value: around $64.4B dollars. [*A precursor is a substance from which another is formed.]

Per Bloomberg, the US imports nearly half of its consumption of lithium. [Lithium is used in the lithium-ion batteries that power computers, military equipment, vehicles, phones, electric tools, and energy-grid storage, as well as in aerospace alloys. Additional lithium is imported into the United States every year inside finished products made elsewhere and containing lithium-ion batteries].

With this recent mineral motherlode, USGS officials estimate that the 2.3 million metric tons of lithium oxide in the Appalachian region would be enough lithium for batteries in:

• 1.6 million grid-scale batteries large enough to stabilize an electric grid
• 130 million electric vehicles
• 180 billion laptops, or a 1,000 year-supply of laptops for the world (at 2025 levels)
• 500 billion cellphones, or 60 cellphones for each person on earth

All told, [the deposits could be] enough to replace 328 years of imports at last year’s level, providing “a major contribution to US mineral security, at a time when global lithium demand is rising rapidly,” said Mamula.

To determine the amount of lithium in the hills, the USGS scientists employed “geologic maps, tectonic history, geochemical sampling, geophysical surveys and records of mineral occurrences,” per the release.

By conducting simulations using a global dataset for lithium pegmatites (a highly valuable coarse igneous rock), they were able to estimate how many untapped lithium deposits there were in the study area.

This allowed them to extrapolate how much of the mineral resource they held. In total, the team identified 18 different lithium-rich districts across the region. …

This…lithium mine is crucial given that the world production “capacity for lithium will double by 2029, driven by increasing demand,” per the statement.

Australia currently leads the charge when it comes to lithium production, supplying nearly half the global supply in 2024.

Following close behind is China, which also accounts for the majority of lithium refining and consumption.

This latest discovery has the potential to reshuffle the list. “The US was the dominant world producer of lithium three decades ago, and this research highlights the abundant potential to reclaim our mineral independence,” declared Mamula.

Compiled from articles published on April 29 at NY Post by Ben Cost, with Concord Monitor. Reprinted here for educational purposes only. May not be reproduced on other websites without permission.