A potentially immense lithium reserve may be concealed within America’s ancient Appalachian Mountains, promising to secure a long-term supply of this essential mineral for the United States.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has revealed that approximately 2.5 million tons of lithium could be nestled beneath the Appalachian range, with significant deposits located in the Carolinas and northern New England.
This discovery could substitute around 328 years of the current U.S. lithium imports, according to officials, representing a pivotal advancement toward enhancing the country’s mineral self-reliance. The estimated value of this lithium reserve is around $64.4 billion.
Experts speculate that this volume of lithium could power around 1.6 million large-scale batteries for the power grid or as many as 130 million electric vehicles.
Furthermore, this supply could potentially produce about 180 billion laptops, sufficient for a millennium of global usage, and up to 500 billion cellphones, equating to roughly 60 devices per person worldwide.
In a statement, USGS Director Ned Mamula remarked, “This research indicates that the Appalachians hold enough lithium to significantly contribute to meeting the nation’s rising demands, greatly enhancing U.S. mineral security amid a rapidly increasing global lithium demand.”
The Appalachian Mountains, formed roughly 480 million years ago, are among the oldest mountain ranges in the world and the oldest in North America.
Because of their immense age, lithium-rich rocks formed during ancient tectonic collisions, when continents slammed together to create the supercontinent Pangea, generating intense heat and pressure that produced lithium-bearing pegmatites deep within the crust.
The Appalachian Mountains, formed roughly 480 million years ago, are among the oldest mountain ranges in the world and the oldest in North America
Researchers identified up to 18 separate lithium-rich districts along the Appalachian Mountains
The USGS projects global lithium production capacity will double by 2029 as demand continues to surge, making supply security an increasingly urgent priority for technology companies.
Lithium supply security has become a priority for technology companies.
China dominates the global lithium-ion battery and electric vehicle (EV) supply chain, controlling up to 70 percent of processing and refining capacity and roughly 80 percent of battery cell production.
‘The US was the dominant world producer of lithium three decades ago, and this research highlights the abundant potential to reclaim our mineral independence,’ Mamula said.
The USGS published a study on the findings this week, noting the northern Appalachian region contains thousands of pegmatite rock bodies, most made of quartz, feldspar and mica, but a smaller number contain lithium.
Pegmatites are the main type of rock where lithium is typically found.
The discovery of thousands of pegmatite bodies across the northern Appalachian region suggests the area has the natural building blocks needed to host lithium-rich deposits, helping explain why scientists believe large reserves may exist there.
Researchers identified up to 18 separate lithium-rich districts in this region.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) announced that an estimated 2.5 million tons of lithium could lie buried within the Appalachian Mountains (stock)
Scientists then divided the districts into three regions, called Domains 1, 2 and 3, to estimate how much lithium might still be undiscovered underground.
Of the three, Domain 1 showed the strongest potential, with an average estimate of about 2.3 undiscovered deposits, far more than the other areas.
Researchers calculated that Domain 1 has a 90 percent chance of containing at least one undiscovered deposit, about a 70 percent chance of containing at least two, roughly a 40 percent chance of having three, and about a 10 percent chance of containing as many as five deposits.
By comparison, Domain 3 showed the lowest potential. Scientists estimated a 90 percent chance that no undiscovered deposits exist there, and only about a 10 percent chance that even one deposit might be present.
Domain 2 fell somewhere in between, with about a 50 percent chance of having at least one undiscovered deposit.
However, its average estimate was 0.73 deposits, which means it behaved more like Domain 3 than Domain 1 in terms of likely discoveries.
Domain 1 stood out, with an average estimate of about 213 million tons of ore, which is more than three times higher than Domain 2, about 64 million tons, and roughly 23 times higher than Domain 3, around 9 million tons.
This is a developing story… More updates to come.
