Enough lithium for decades worth of battery manufacturing has been discovered in the McDermitt Caldera, on the Nevada – Oregon border.
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(Image credit: Getty / gchapel) Scientists reckon that the McDermitt Caldera might hold the largest deposit of lithium ever found. Situated on the Nevada – Oregon border, this huge crater was formed when a magma chamber collapsed around 16 million years ago. Estimates point to there being between 20 and 40 million metric tons of lithium-rich clay at this site. The deposit could be worth $1.5 trillion at current prices, says Earth.com , and be ample to supply the lithium battery industry (gadgets, cars, Powerwalls) for decades. Moreover, it is undoubtedly a resource of strategic significance.
Investigations into the size and nature of this deposit were led by Thomas R. Benson, PhD, working on behalf of Lithium Americas Corporation (LAC). The research suggests that several million years ago, a supervolcano situated about 28 miles north to south and 22 miles east to west along the Nevada-Oregon line formed a large crater, after its magma chamber collapsed in the wake of a violent eruption.
Subsequently, thick sheets of hot ash cooled on the caldera floor, and a lake was established for eons, collecting volcanic ash and mud sediments. Volcanic activity continued, though, with mineral-rich hydrothermal water being carried upwards into the lake sediments.
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/manufacturing/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/manufacturing/usd1-5-trillion-lithium-deposit-found-in-u-s-supervolcano-crater-site-could-supply-batteries-for-decades#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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