DALLAS (NewsNation) — As lithium becomes more critical, powering everything from electric vehicles to cruise missiles, demand is skyrocketing for rare earths found deep under mineral-rich East Texas.
Major energy producers aren’t just drilling for oil in Texas — they’re going after lithium and other rare earth minerals, investing billions in what many are calling a modern-day gold rush.
Companies like Chevron, Halliburton and Exxon are racing to open lithium mines in East Texas, where they’ve been drilling for more than a century.
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The United States doesn’t produce enough lithium or other critical minerals to meet its clean energy needs, but a significant discovery last month is changing that.
Smackover Formation could fuel nation’s lithium needs
The most lithium-rich fluids ever found in North America were discovered in a massive brine deposit known as the “Smackover Formation.” That rock formation, uncovered roughly 20 years ago, stretches from East Texas into Arkansas to the Florida Panhandle.
Experts have said the region is quickly becoming one of the central hubs for U.S. lithium production and that, in 10 years, it could be the nation’s largest domestic source.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Arkansas portion alone could contain enough lithium to meet global demand for car batteries nine times over.
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China is the world’s third-largest lithium producer
Currently, China is the third-largest producer and processor of lithium, posing serious economic and national security risks, according to the World Economic Forum. But the Smackover Formation discovery could help change that.
“It’s all imported from China right now, and they do have the ability if they stop export, which was recently announced, that we’re going to really restrict the export of it,” said Douglas Wicks, a former program director at the Department of Energy. “It could grind our economy to a halt in a matter of months.”
Wicks added that, with the Energy Department’s support, the U.S. could begin to significantly reduce lithium imports from China by 2027.
