This ancient volcano, named McDermitt, was formed more than 19 million years ago and may hold an estimated 40 million tons of lithium reserves.
The reserve is much larger than the lithium mine located beneath a salt flat in Bolivia, long considered the world’s largest lithium mine.
Lithium is considered “white gold”, with a price of around 37,000 USD/ton. This means that the estimated value of newly discovered lithium mines in the US is approximately US$1,480 billion. Lithium is a key component in batteries used in everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to solar panels.
“This mineral reserve could change the global distribution of lithium in terms of price, security of supply and geopolitics” – daily Mail KU cites comments by Anouk Borst, an expert at Leuven University and the Royal Central African Museum in Tervuren – Belgium.
Where a group of American geologists have found the world’s largest lithium mine. Photo: Daily Mail
Geologists have found a unique soil in the McDermitt Caldera area, which contains the mineral illite containing 1.3%–2.4% lithium. This ratio is approximately twice the amount of lithium in the common lithium-rich clay, magnesium smectite (which is more common than illite).
Some of the conditions that contributed to the formation of lithium deposits in the McDermitt Caldera were an eruption 16.4 million years ago. After the eruption, the caldera filled with magma containing sodium, potassium, lithium, chlorine and boron. They cool quickly, forming volcanic rocks that deposit lithium-rich particles.
Later, a lake formed in the crater, which lasted for hundreds of thousands of years. The surrounding weathered volcanic material resulted in the formation of clay deposits at the lake bottom.
The researchers’ analysis showed that after the lake dried up, another eruption exposed the sediment to hot alkaline water, rich in lithium and potassium.
Lithium shale beds in the McDermitt caldera. Photo: Daily Mail
Most of the world’s lithium reserves are located beneath salt flats, such as those in Bolivia. Photo: AP
Geologist Thomas Benson of Lithium Americas Corporation (Canada) believes that warm alkaline water forms an unconsolidated layer about 40 meters thick in the lake sediments. Fluids rose up from fissures that appeared when the volcano reactivated, causing the smectite to be converted into defecate in an area south of the crater called Thacker Pass. As a result, the proportion of lithium in the shale layer is very high.
Expert Benson revealed that Lithium Americas Corporation plans to start exploiting lithium mines in Nevada – Oregon in 2026, which will last for 40 years.
The mining method involves separating the clay from water, then extracting the lithium-containing particles by centrifugation. Next, the clay will be soaked in a sulfuric acid bath to leach out the lithium.
The McDermitt Caldera lithium mine plan has been criticized by environmentalists, who claim the site is on sacred Native American lands. Photo: AP
