[shiftpgdn]

Destructive extraction of lithium is completely a myth. There is currently enough lithium in Texas oil wells that were capped because they were full of salt water that’s easily extracted and evap pooled to satisfy global lithium demand for 100 years.

[sbaiddn]

Im skeptical, so Ill need a reference, but consider:

- You're commenting on a thread about a collapsing water table due to Li extraction.

- Li's price has risen and projected to continue to do so for quite some time.

- You post that Li extraction is cheap, clean and widely available in TX (perhaps the most covetous state of the Union?). Money is literally in a capped oil well and Texans are too lazy to pick it up.

Perhaps Li isn't as easy and clean to extract as you were led to believe?

[simondotau]

The limiting factor on lithium isn't raw material availability or extraction, it's refinement. Approximately 80% of the world's lithium refinery capacity is located in China. Nobody is refining lithium at scale in North America, so I'd say it's obvious why nobody's rushing to pay American-level salaries to suck it out of wells in Texas.

Tesla has expressed interest in developing a lithium refinery in Texas, so we might see some hoses drinking from those old wells soon enough.

[shiftpgdn]

https://www.csx.com/index.cfm/customers/piedmont-lithium-cho...

Brine has to be pumped to evap pools and then refined.

[TrapLord_Rhodo]

From your article.

>Piedmont Lithium .. will establish a lithium hydroxide processing, refining and manufacturing facility in Southeast Tennessee

I don't think Piedmont is getting into the ore, or brine extraction. They are processing the salts into hydroxide.

Funny enough, soon after this announcement, elon announced his intention to do the same with Tesla.