by L. Eastman, May 2, 2026 in WUWT

The newly published lithium resource numbers are estimates, and much more work needs to be done to take advantage of our current mineral capacity.

Back in February, I reported that the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimated that 5 to 19 million tons of lithium are located in southwestern Arkansas. That is enough lithium to meet the world’s estimated 2030 demand for lithium nine times over.

Now the USGS is saying that Appalachia contains an estimated 2.3 million metric tons of undiscovered, economically recoverable lithium, enough to replace 328 years of U.S. imports at last year’s level.

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