A Vast, Untapped Source of Lithium Has Just Been Found in The US

Good news! Maybe lithium is not so rare after all! You need to know where to look!

"... Pennsylvania sits on a vein of sedimentary rock known as the Marcellus Shale, which is rich in natural gas. The geological foundation was deposited almost 400 million years ago by volcanic activity, and it contains lithium from volcanic ash.

Over vast stretches of time, deep groundwater has dissolved the lithium in these rocks, essentially "mining the subsurface" ...

now found that when wastewater is dredged up from the deep by fracking activities, it contains an astonishing amount of lithium. ..."

From the abstract:

"Decarbonatization initiatives have rapidly increased the demand for lithium. This study uses public waste compliance reports and Monte Carlo approaches to estimate total lithium mass yields from produced water (PW) sourced from the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania (PA). Statewide, Marcellus Shale PW has substantial extractable lithium, however, concentrations, production volumes and extraction efficiencies vary between the northeast and southwest operating zones. Annual estimates suggest statewide lithium mass yields of approximately 1160 (95% CI 1140–1180) metric tons (mt) per year. Production decline curve analysis on PW volumes reveal cumulative volumetric disparities between the northeast (median = 2.89 X 107 L/10-year) and southwest (median = 5.56 × 107 L/10-year) regions of the state, influencing lithium yield estimates of individual wells in southwest [2.90 (95% CI 2.80–2.99) mt/10-year] and northeast [1.96 (CI 1.86–2.07) mt/10-year] PA. Moreover, Mg/Li mass ratios vary regionally, where NE PA are low Mg/Li fluids, having a median Mg/Li mass ratio of 5.39 (IQR, 2.66–7.26) and SW PA PW is higher with a median Mg/Li mass ratio of 17.8 (IQR, 14.3–20.7). These estimates indicate substantial lithium yields from Marcellus PW, though regional variability in chemistry and production may impact recovery efficiencies."

A Vast, Untapped Source of Lithium Has Just Been Found in The US : ScienceAlert

Estimates of lithium mass yields from produced water sourced from the Devonian-aged Marcellus Shale (open access)

Credits: A Vast Source of Lithium Has Just Been Found in the US

Figure 1 Map of study area showing the Marcellus shale extent, well locations using in decline curve analysis (DCA), PW samples used in this study, and previous USGS sample locations.