Huge, accessible Lithium source found in South Coast area

Knierim et al in Science

We calculated that there are 5.1 to 19 million tons of lithium in Smackover Formation brines in southern Arkansas.

About 6 weeks ago, we covered the lithium boom in the Smackover Formation region of the United States. That story covered how one particular entrepreneur was planning to use Direct Lithium Extraction, a methodology he developed back in the 90s, across one particular region of the southeast referred to as the Smackover Foundation.

A paper recently published in Science confirmed that that entrepreneur is on the right track. The researchers identified a substantial lithium resource in southern Arkansas. Using an AI model trained on geological, geochemical, and temperature data, the team predicted lithium concentrations across the region and estimated the formation contains between 5.1 and 19 million tons of lithium, or about 35% to 136% of the current U.S. lithium resource estimate. Lithium boom baby!

If the U.S. is going to usher in a clean, renewable future, it’s going to need access to a lot more lithium — the essential mineral for building EV batteries and other clean tech. And boy does it look like Arkansas has us covered. God blessed America.