California’s Salton Sea has been a treasure trove of all kinds of minerals and elements for years, but recently it became a ‘white gold’ mine with one of the largest lithium brine deposits in the world.
“It definitely can meet California’s needs and probably most of North America. The other question is how long would that geothermal brine be able to produce lithium. The answer is that they really don’t know, but they’re saying at least a 100 years,” Timothy E. Kelley, the president and CEO of the Imperial Valley Economic Development Corporation, said.
Mr. Kelley says it could pave the way for a potential technology production boom and economic growth as California strives to transition to go electric.
Lithium is a main component in making lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. Currently, China is the main processor of lithium deposits. But if California can mine its own and draw in investors, it may rely less on imports.
But Mr. Kelley said supply cannot keep up with demand, so the value of lithium has gone up.
