The legacy of “21st century gold” discovered in a supervolcano in Oregon and Nevada: an inexhaustible source of resources

Interest in rare earth and critical elements has risen in recent years as many industries move towards renewable energy technologies. That means demand is increasing for lithium, nickel and other critical minerals with some sources claiming that demand will multiply by between three and seven (approximately 1 million metric tons) by 2040.

The world’s biggest lithium producers

Lithium resources are abundant in all parts of the world - and particularly present in South America. Chile is the country with the largest lithium reserves in the world, with 9.2 million tons in total. China and Australia also have large reserves.

While the United States has plenty of natural resources, it is not among the world’s big producers of lithium.

Lithium is extracted in a number of different ways - either by via solar evaporation of large brine pools, or from hard-rock extraction of the ore spodumene. But there is also a third source - volcanic sediments.

Lithium resources in McDermitt Caldera

A couple of years ago, a team of researchers led by Thomas Benson looked into the potential of volcano sedimentary lithium resources. They discovered that clay-rich lacustrine sediments within the southern portion of McDermitt Caldera at Thacker Pass, southeastern Oregon and northern Nevada contain extremely high lithium grades.

The other advantage of extracting lithium from volcanic sediments is that the process is not energy intensive and produces low waste. According to recent calculations, an estimated 20 to 40 million tons of lithium (maximum 120 MT) is contained within sediments of the whole McDermitt Caldera.

To put that into perspective, the McDermitt Caldera sediments could contain the equivalent or more lithium resources than, the 10.2 million tons estimated to be contained in brines beneath the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, considered one of the largest Li deposits on Earth.

What is lithium?

It is one of the alkaline elements of the periodic table, its symbol is “Li”. In its pure form, it is a soft metal, white or silver in color. It is the lightest solid element.

Lithium is derived from the Greek word “LITHOS”, which means stone. In a document from the Government of Mexico, it states that it is a metallic, silvery-white, and chemically reactive element; It is the lightest in weight of all metals and has a low melting point.

Lithium is present in a wide range of minerals (approximately 145 mineralogical species); however, only some have economic value, the main ones being: spodumene, amblygonite, lepidolite and petalite.

What is lithium used for?

Lithium is used in heat conducting alloys - components found in rechargeable lithium-ion or Li-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries have a higher energy efficiency and longer cycle life than standard alkaline batteries. For that reason they are widely used in portable consumer electronics, laptop computers, cellular phones, and electric cars.

Other uses include the elaboration of ceramics and glass; lubricating greases and has long been used in the pharmaceutical industry, for example, in the treatment of bipolar disorder.

Depression, schizophrenia and manic depression are alleviated by lithium-based treatments. The pharmaceutical industry uses some lithium salts to make mood-regulating drugs.

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