A top lithium expert agrees with Elon Musk that there’s not enough of the crucial metal to meet booming demand

[william]

MSN

Most lithium mines and reserves are located in South America and Australia, with China largely in control of global supply chains.
Nickel, a critical component of most lithium-ion batteries, has seen a huge price surge in the first few months of 2022. The Russian invasion of Ukraine destabilized nickel’s global supply, as Russia was one of the top producers of the metal in 2021.
Why do western governments allow this?

 

[Obreid]

According to the USGS the US is ranked fourth in lithium deposits, ahead of Australia.
The difference the US does very little lithium mining.
A large part of it is a well known location. The Bonniville salt flats.

Top six countries with the largest lithium reserves in the world

Lithium is growing in demand, but many of the countries with the largest-known reserves have yet to successfully commercialise the resource at scale.

www.nsenergybusiness.com

 

[Obreid]

According to the USGS the US is ranked fourth in lithium deposits, ahead of Australia.
The difference the US does very little lithium mining.
A large part of it is a well known location. The Bonniville salt flats.

Top six countries with the largest lithium reserves in the world

Lithium is growing in demand, but many of the countries with the largest-known reserves have yet to successfully commercialise the resource at scale.

www.nsenergybusiness.com

Like most industries that provide a decent industry and income producing jobs. The US farms it out to other nations to do it cheaper and consequently dirtier to appease corporate greed and environmentalist.
God forbid the US actually develop decent paying blue collar jobs. We’ll make environmentalist and corporations happy.

 

[DEFCON Warning System]

The US farms it out to other nations to do it cheaper and consequently dirtier to appease corporate greed and environmentalist.

There is also a legitimate strategy to this. Let the other countries mine their supply. The U.S. keeps theirs. When everyone else runs out, the U.S. still has a supply.

Same with oil.

 

[Friendly Engineer]

It's possible to make batteries from other materials right now https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rechargeable_battery . Also, eventually graphene batteries will be a thing (basically, you could make batteries from coal, or from CO2 compressed from the air.)

If lithium dries up, the markets will find something else to make batteries with.

 

[Friendly Engineer]

Trust me on this one guys, battery technology is going to see a revolution this century.
We'll see energy densities that'll make our heads spin!

 

[Obreid]

There is also a legitimate strategy to this. Let the other countries mine their supply. The U.S. keeps theirs. When everyone else runs out, the U.S. still has a supply.

Same with oil.

That’s relevant true, but to utilize this as a strategic option it would be important to keep at least rudimentary industries active domestically so that the resources could be exploited when needed or necessary.
Take oil for example in 2021 we cut oil production. The price of oil spiked and Russia saw oil revenues go up that led them to believe they could afford the invasion of Ukraine.
I agree it is a strategic reserve, but we don’t use it as a strategic reserve.

 

[DEFCON Warning System]

I agree it is a strategic reserve, but we don’t use it as a strategic reserve.

You're right on that.

 

[Obreid]

Trust me on this one guys, battery technology is going to see a revolution this century.
We'll see energy densities that'll make our heads spin!

the industrial utilization of graphene will be as big or bigger than ceramics and microcircuitry.

 

[Obreid]

You're right on that.

The only strategic reserve we have protected thus far is agriculture.

 

[DEFCON Warning System]

The only strategic reserve we have protected thus far is agriculture.

Are you sure about that? The U.S. has sold off a lot of farmland to China.

 

[Obreid]

Are you sure about that? The U.S. has sold off a lot of farmland to China.

Currently 30 million acres of American farmland is owned by foreign investors or fully 2.2 percent of all American farmland.
China owned 191,000 acres worth $1.9 billion as of 2019

How Much Land Does China Own in the U.S.?

American prosperity has largely been built on a dual foundation: cheap land, expensive labor. Until Ted Kennedy’s Immigration Act of 1965, Ronald Reagan’s Amnesty of 1986 and NAFTA opened up the fl…

newsessentials.wordpress.com

 

[Yingyang]

Unfortunately it is a crock of shit when it comes to this discussion. Save the planet from coal and oil , meanwhile we poison it with massive poisoning of lithium batteries and solar panels in dumps. Highly toxic, hardly reusable energy sources.

 

[Dr Arthur]

Unfortunately it is a crock of shit when it comes to this discussion. Save the planet from coal and oil , meanwhile we poison it with massive poisoning of lithium batteries and solar panels in dumps. Highly toxic, hardly reusable energy sources.

Correct and there is a lot to do that could improve efficency and ability to recycle older panels. University of Queensland had a joint research project into these issues but was not supported by the Australian government and was technology transferred to China. When I was a research assistance in metallurgical engineering I went past this facility everyday. Such a same and short sightedness of the former Howard liberal government

 

[Dr Arthur]

Lithium mining is looking to be a lucrative area of investment and will probably have more like Geena Rhinehart and Clive Palmer get involved and lock others out.

 

[Yingyang]

Correct and there is a lot to do that could improve efficency and ability to recycle older panels. University of Queensland had a joint research project into these issues but was not supported by the Australian government and was technology transferred to China. When I was a research assistance in metallurgical engineering I went past this facility everyday. Such a same and short sightedness of the former Howard liberal government

Aussie Aussie Aussie

 

[Yingyang]

Lithium mining is looking to be a lucrative area of investment and will probably have more like Geena Rhinehart and Clive Palmer get involved and lock others out.

Yep and electric vehicles will cause just as much damage to environment as traditional fuel powered vehicles. People don't realise that most electric vehicles have between 4-8 batteries minimum for small to medium size vehicles. Those batteries will never be cheaper than $8-10,000 each. They need replacing approximately every 6 yrs. That is $40-80,000 . The average family could never afford that. Absolutely ridiculous and very deceitful. Save the planet is lies lies and more lies. No honesty .

 

[Obreid]

One of the biggest contributions to improve air and water quality in the US wasnt due to solar or wind. It was electric generation w/ nat gas.
And that NG came from fracking.
And catastrophic global warming that is constantly sold is the engine of the scam.

 

[Friendly Engineer]

Nissan aiming for solid-state battery cells by 2028

Japanese carmaker Nissan has unveiled a prototype production facility for laminated all-solid-state battery cells, which the company aims to bring to market in 2028.

www.futuretimeline.net

 

[expat42451]

And wait a minute didnt we manage a change of government recently in Bolivia due to lithium deposits and their recalcitrance to open their leg....oops, sorry, arms...to the mining companies?

Sorry I get confused after having read a post about world vagina day somewhere recently.....