[Rockhounds] Arkansas May Have Vast Lithium Reserves, Researchers Say

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

Researchers said in a recent article that Arkansas may have 19 million tons
of lithium, which is used in rechargeable batteries for important products
like phones and electric cars.

The researchers said in their article released last month in the journal
Science Advances they had “calculated that there are 5.1 to 19 million tons
of lithium in Smackover Formation brines in southern Arkansas,” making up
“35 to 136% of the current US lithium resource estimate.”

According to a Monday release from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), “the
Smackover Formation is a relic of an ancient sea that left an extensive,
porous, and permeable limestone geologic unit that extends under parts of
Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida.”
Lithium, which has been labeled by the USGS as a critical mineral, has been
often obtained from brines or salt flats they evaporate into. According to
a projection from the International Energy Agency, demand for lithium could
increase by more than 40 times by 2040.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/21/business/energy-environment/arkansas-lithium-ev-batteries.html

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/researchers-say-arkansas-may-have-19m-tons-of-lithium-critical-for-battery-power/ar-AA1sFKbv