--- title: "Colossal Cache of Lithium Found in US May Be World’s Largest" description: "An area known as Thacker Pass on the Nevada-Oregon border is home to clay that contain tens of millions of tons of lithium." date: "2023-09-10" modified: "2023-09-10" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/lithium-found-us-worlds-largest-cache" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "lithium" - "lithium ion" - "Mining" - "the digest" --- # Colossal Cache of Lithium Found in US May Be World’s Largest ![An area known as Thacker Pass on the Nevada-Oregon border is home to clay that contain tens of millions of tons of lithium.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Struck Gold In the race to hoard lithium, a metal crucial for creating the batteries that power electric vehicles, the US may have fortuitously stumbled on the world's biggest deposit yet. A new study, [published in the journal *Science Advances*](), estimates that the McDermitt Caldera, a volcanic crater on the Nevada-Oregon border, harbors a colossal 20 to 40 million metric tons of lithium. Based on these newest figures, the caldera dwarfs the amount of lithium in even [Bolivia's salt flats](), home to around 23 million tons. "If you believe their back-of-the-envelope estimation, this is a very, very significant deposit of lithium," Anouk Borst, a geologist at KU Leuven University who was not involved in the study, [told *Chemistry World*](). "It could change the dynamics of lithium globally, in terms of price, security of supply and geopolitics." ## Here to Clay Some of the world's richest lithium stores are [contained in brine](). But the McDermitt Caldera's lithium, particularly in its southern portion in Nevada, in an area called Thacker Pass, is locked up in clay. The caldera formed after a massive magma eruption approximately 16.4 million years ago, dredging up untold scores of lithium and other metals. A lake eventually inhabited the caldera, which deposited a layer of sediment spliced with the lithium that today is over 600 feet deep. The result: a clay called smectite. But that was just the first lithium injection. Eventually, as volcanic activity heated up again, hot brine containing additional lithium was driven up into the existing smectite, infusing it with even more of it. Now, the clay was no longer just smectite, but a uniquely lithium-rich illite. "They seem to have hit the sweet spot where the clays are preserved close to the surface, so they won't have to extract as much rock, yet it hasn't been weathered away yet," Borst told *Chemistry World*. ## Divisive Impact This is good news for miners. Not only is this particular illite more rich in the metal, it's supposedly easier to separate. Plus, the deposits are mostly concentrated in one spot at the southern tip of the pass, limiting the area impacted by mining. At least in theory. The extraction of lithium can, depending on the methods used, emit vast amounts of CO2, [contaminate groundwater with dangerous heavy metals](), and guzzle tons of fossil fuels. Its [environmental toll]() shouldn't be overlooked in the rush to green transportation infrastructure. For these reasons, the project has been mired in controversy. Conservationists have tried to block mining in the area, believing it would violate environmental laws. They're joined by Native American activists, as Thacker Pass is considered sacred by some local tribes. But a federal court [struck down their appeals in July](), and workers have now [broken ground at the site this week](). *Updated to remove reference to lithium being a rare earth metal; [it is not]().* **More on lithium:** *[Let’s Talk About That Study Linking Autism and Lithium in the Water]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()