The discovery of lithium in a US volcano may be the largest deposit ever discovered
The discovery of lithium in a US volcano may be the largest deposit ever discovered World-class lithium reserves along the Nevada-Oregon border could meet growing demand for the metal, according to a new study. It is estimated that 20 to 40 million tons of lithium ore are contained in volcanic craters that erupted about 16 million years ago. This compares with the lithium deposits beneath Bolivia’s thin salt deposits, formerly considered the world’s largest reserves. But Native Americans, to whom the area is sacred and believe it was the site of an 1865 massacre, are competing for a mining site Anauk Borst, a geologist at KU Leuven University and the Royal Museum of Central Africa in Tervuren, Belgium, says: 'If you consider their surface lithium reserves, this is a very, very , significant lithium deposit on price, security of supply , and geopolitics.' Further analysis of the site indicates that the craters of the volcano, an unusual clay composed of the mineral illite, conta