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Gem Hunters Found the Lithium America Needs. Maine Won’t Let Them Dig It Up (time.com)

submitted 1 year ago by L4s to c/technology

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Gem Hunters Found the Lithium America Needs. Maine Won’t Let Them Dig It Up::Gem hunters in Maine found one of the richest lithium deposits in the U.S. State laws are preventing them from being able to mine it.

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[–] dogslayeggs 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So they US just needs to open 187 more desalination plants... and find a place to put all that deadly brine.

[–] LordOfTheChia 8 points 1 year ago

An instant ramen factory would at least take care of the sodium!

That said, looks like the current sea water desalination worldwide is pretty huge:

https://www.wired.com/story/desalination-is-booming-but-what-about-all-that-toxic-brine/

16,000 operating desal facilities worldwide have been producing. Until now. Researchers report today that global desal brine production is 50 percent higher than previous estimates, totaling 141.5 million cubic meters a day, compared to 95 million cubic meters of actual freshwater output from the facilities.

236.5 million cubic meters of sea water processed a day, 264 gallons in a cubic meter = 62.44 Billion gallons of water per day.

If the Lithium content is the same as it is in the US example, then that is a potential 20,000 tons of Lithium a year (again assuming the same Li concentration and 100% extraction.

Sadly still short of the current global demand for lithium:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/u-s-seeks-new-lithium-sources-as-demand-for-clean-energy-grows

Worldwide demand for lithium was about 350,000 tons (317,517 metric tons) in 2020, but industry estimates project demand will be up to six times greater by 2030.