Discover a massive lithium mine beneath the ancient Appalachian Mountains.

Researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimate that the ancient Appalachian Mountains contain 2.3 million tons of lithium.

According to new research by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Appalachian Mountains contain vast, untapped lithium reserves—enough to produce 500 billion cell phones, 180 billion laptops, or 130 million electric vehicles. The region holds 2.3 million tons of lithium, enough to replace U.S. lithium imports for approximately 328 years. Therefore, exploiting lithium in the Appalachian Mountains could help the U.S. reduce its dependence on imports from China, Argentina, and Chile.

Two new studies by experts on the northern and southern Appalachian regions indicate that lithium sources are distributed throughout the eastern United States, from Alabama to Maine, and exist in an extremely coarse-grained rock called pegmatite.

According to USGS research geologist Christopher Holm-Denoma, co-author of the study of the northern Appalachian region, this is the first USGS mineral resource assessment of lithium resources in the area. It is also part of a nationwide USGS assessment of lithium resources in pegmatite veins, brine, dried-up lakebeds, and ancient volcanoes.

The Appalachian Mountains are estimated to contain approximately 2.3 million tons of lithium. Photo: John Baggaley via Getty Images.

Lithium is an essential component in electronics, military equipment, and electric vehicle batteries. It is also used in aerospace alloys, stabilizers, and industrial lubricants. In particular, demand for lithium for battery production has surged in the US in recent years, highlighting a significant gap between domestic supply and demand.

"The U.S. has one of the world's largest lithium reserves. However, more than half of the lithium used in the U.S. is imported because there is currently only one lithium mine operating domestically, located in Clayton Valley, Nevada," said research geologist Christopher.

The northern Appalachian Mountains—including parts of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware—contain approximately 900,000 tonnes of lithium. To arrive at this estimate, the team analyzed geological maps, geochemical and geophysical data, records of mineral occurrence, and the region's tectonic history. They also ran models with a global dataset of pegmatite to simulate the distribution and scale of lithium deposits in the study area.

According to geologist Christopher, lithium-rich pegmatite deposits are relatively small, ranging in length and width from just a few meters to a few hundred meters. However, when aggregated across the entire area, they provide a significant amount of lithium.

Lithium in the northern Appalachian Mountains is concentrated mainly in the states of Maine and New Hampshire. Some pegmatite deposits, such as Plumbago North in Maine, contain the mineral spodumene, which has a high lithium content by weight of 3.5%.

Meanwhile, research on the southern Appalachian Mountains reveals that the lower half of the ancient mountain system—including Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama—contains approximately 1.57 million tons of lithium. The majority of these resources are concentrated in South Carolina and North Carolina.

Pegmatite crystallizes from lithium-rich magma more than 250 million years ago, before the supercontinent Pangea emerged. Mining pegmatite requires digging enormous pits, which can destroy wildlife habitats and impact the landscape and biodiversity of the area. This activity also causes pollution from waste materials such as crushed rock, which can leach trace elements into the soil and water sources. Furthermore, the heavy machinery needed to mine the Appalachian hard rock releases large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and extracting lithium from the rock requires the use of toxic chemicals, resulting in higher greenhouse gas emissions.

Source: https://khoahocdoisong.vn/kham-pha-mo-lithium-khong-lo-duoi-day-nui-co-appalachian-post2149101233.html