A trio of volcanologists and geologists from Lithium Americas Corp., GNS Science, and Oregon State University reports evidence that the McDermitt Caldera, on the Nevada/ Oregon border, may contain some of the largest known deposits of lithium on Earth.
Over the past few decades, lithium has become a highly valued soft metal, due primarily to its use in a wide variety of batteries installed in electric vehicles, power tools and lawncare equipment.
Because lithium’s value has continued to increase, scientists working for mining companies such as Lithium Americas Corp. have been looking for sources.
A massive source of lithium in the U.S. would make this nation less dependent upon a foreign power as a source for the alkali metal, and thus production of lithium batteries could be cheaper to produce.
In their project, reported in the journal Science Advances, Thomas Benson, Matthew Coble and John Dilles studied parts of the caldera and developed a theory to explain how so many lithium deposits were formed in the area.
The McDermitt Caldera is a 475 square-mile dry lakebed in the remnants of an ancient volcano that exploded approximately 16 million years ago. The lithium deposits are relatively close to the surface, at a maximum depth of about 350 feet.
The deposit is estimated to contain 20 to 40 million metric tons of lithium, which is more than double the concentration of lithium in any other clay bed globally. If so, it could revolutionize the global lithium supply chain.
In 2017, another team of researchers found evidence that one part of the caldera, called Thacker Pass, could be among the largest sources of lithium ever found. Lithium Americas obtained a stake at the site and began testing mining operations. Soon thereafter, they ran into opposition from locals and Native American groups, but eventually won the right to mine at the site.
The caldera is important to tribal members as a source of food, medicine, and hunting grounds.
Since that time, the research team has been collecting and analyzing samples, looking for the best place to begin major mining operations. But to find it, they and many other experts in the field believe they must find an explanation for how the lithium got there in the first place.