callmerob
starting to spend too much on rocks
I really like a dirt road
Member since September 2019
Posts: 131
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Post by callmerob on Sept 10, 2023 23:48:05 GMT -5
“Colossal Cache of Lithium Found in US May Be World's Largest Frank Landymore, from Yahoo!News Sun, September 10, 2023, 3:00 AM PDT·2 min read
Struck Gold In the race to hoard lithium, a metal crucial for creating the batteries that power electric vehicles, the US may have fortuitously stumbled on the world's biggest deposit yet.
A new study, published in the journal Science Advances, estimates that the McDermitt Caldera, a volcanic crater on the Nevada-Oregon border, harbors a colossal 20 to 40 million metric tons of lithium. Based on these newest figures, the caldera dwarfs the amount of lithium in even Bolivia's salt flats, home to around 23 million tons.
"If you believe their back-of-the-envelope estimation, this is a very, very significant deposit of lithium," Anouk Borst, a geologist at KU Leuven University who was not involved in the study, told Chemistry World. "It could change the dynamics of lithium globally, in terms of price, security of supply and geopolitics."
Here to Clay Some of the world's richest lithium stores are contained in brine. But the McDermitt Caldera's lithium, particularly in its southern portion in Nevada, in an area called Thacker Pass, is locked up in clay. The caldera formed after a massive magma eruption approximately 16.4 million years ago, dredging up untold scores of lithium and other metals. A lake eventually inhabited the caldera, which deposited a layer of sediment spliced with the lithium that today is over 600 feet deep. The result: a clay called smectite.
But that was just the first lithium injection. Eventually, as volcanic activity heated up again, hot brine containing additional lithium was driven up into the existing smectite, infusing it with even more of the rare earth metal. Now, the clay was no longer just smectite, but a uniquely lithium-rich illite.
"They seem to have hit the sweet spot where the clays are preserved close to the surface, so they won't have to extract as much rock, yet it hasn't been weathered away yet," Borst told Chemistry World.
Divisive Impact This is good news for miners. Not only is this particular illite more rich in the metal, it's supposedly easier to separate. Plus, the deposits are mostly concentrated in one spot at the southern tip of the pass, limiting the area impacted by mining. At least in theory. The extraction of lithium can, depending on the methods used, emit vast amounts of CO2, contaminate groundwater with dangerous heavy metals, and guzzle tons of fossil fuels. Its environmental toll shouldn't be overlooked in the rush to green transportation infrastructure.
For these reasons, the project has been mired in controversy. Conservationists have tried to block mining in the area, believing it would violate environmental laws. They're joined by Native American activists, as Thacker Pass is considered sacred by some local tribes. But a federal court struck down their appeals in July, and workers have now broken ground at the site this week.”
…and bad news for Native American activists.
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Post by vegasjames on Sept 11, 2023 6:21:37 GMT -5
There is another massive lithium deposit here in Southern Nevada just North of Goldfield. They were going to start mining that deposit, but it got blocked for some reason last I heard.
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Post by vegasjames on Sept 11, 2023 6:30:03 GMT -5
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callmerob
starting to spend too much on rocks
I really like a dirt road
Member since September 2019
Posts: 131
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Post by callmerob on Sept 11, 2023 14:09:19 GMT -5
Yes I’ve seen the turnoff for Silver Peak, and it always seemed like a long detour for an unknown, and on my way to somewhere else. BLM says …”Herd Management Areas (HMA) are lands … that are managed for the primary but not exclusive benefit of free-roaming "wild" horses and burros.” Maybe lithium is the next gold strike. It sounds like an interesting place. Maybe the isolation attracts hard-scrabble miners and desert eccentrics. Probably hear all about it over a cold one at the Dew Drop Inn.
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Post by vegasjames on Sept 11, 2023 16:21:48 GMT -5
Yes I’ve seen the turnoff for Silver Peak, and it always seemed like a long detour for an unknown, and on my way to somewhere else. BLM says …”Herd Management Areas (HMA) are lands … that are managed for the primary but not exclusive benefit of free-roaming "wild" horses and burros.” Maybe lithium is the next gold strike. It sounds like an interesting place. Maybe the isolation attracts hard-scrabble miners and desert eccentrics. Probably hear all about it over a cold one at the Dew Drop Inn. There are actually 3 turnoffs for Silver Peak of the 85 between Goldfield and Tonopah. The first one just North of Goldfield and just past the Gemfield turnoff is the best. Head towards Silver Peak and go 2-3 miles then start searching the left side of the road mainly towards the mountains. Some nice chalcedonies, common opal and candy rhyolite scattered about. Have also found 2 opalized logs and one agatized log further back by the Alkali Hot Spring, where I like to camp.
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callmerob
starting to spend too much on rocks
I really like a dirt road
Member since September 2019
Posts: 131
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Post by callmerob on Sept 11, 2023 17:05:31 GMT -5
Thank you for specific directions to the area. Nevada is The Big Empty. Easy to wander around, find nothing, and get lost. Solitude and the sound of the wind in the sage is good for the soul. The Big Empty
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JR8675309
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since August 2019
Posts: 751
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Post by JR8675309 on Sept 11, 2023 21:34:14 GMT -5
Yeah the McDermitt deposit is under litigation still I believe. But maybe not per the article, I need to do some research as I've not kept up. Lots of natural life and streams folks are concerned about, esp the sage grouse.
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Post by vegasjames on Sept 11, 2023 23:15:46 GMT -5
Yeah the McDermitt deposit is under litigation still I believe. But maybe not per the article, I need to do some research as I've not kept up. Lots of natural life and streams folks are concerned about, esp the sage grouse. Judge ruled on it back in I think it was June and they are now setting up the mining operation.
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,685
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Post by Fossilman on Sept 13, 2023 13:32:46 GMT -5
Destroying the land with those mines!
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Post by vegasjames on Sept 13, 2023 17:04:40 GMT -5
Destroying the land with those mines! So do roads, buildings, overgrazing by cattle........
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Post by HankRocks on Sept 13, 2023 18:48:57 GMT -5
It depends on the nature of the mine and any processing (toxic?) by products produced. For Quartz mines in Arkansas, the mine owner is required to post a reclamation bond that is sufficient to cover the cost of the restoring the land back by filling any large pits, planting trees and some erosion control, usually bales of hay. I have been to a couple of old reclaimed mines and it's difficult to see exactly where the mine was. Pine trees grow fast and hardwoods also move in naturally.
I have seen the same sort of reclamation in the lignite mining area in East Texas. In the case of Quartz and Lignite there is no processing required so no byproducts.
Mines with processing involved, including leaching pits and such can be a real headache, especially affecting places downstream and improper lining of the leaching pits. I know that there has been a big problem in Colorado with nasty stuff affecting downstream waterways. Including the "accidental by the EPA" release by the EPA of over 3 million gallons of contaminated water containing all kinds of heavy metal into the Animas River. Orange water was not a good look and they had to shut down water suppiles in Southwestern Colorado and Northeastern New Mexico.
In other non-US countries, it can be anything goes.
Henry
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wargrafix
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2023
Posts: 563
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Post by wargrafix on Sept 15, 2023 10:20:33 GMT -5
My concern is the light pollution which tends to follow modern mining like a blight specter
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Post by roy on Sept 15, 2023 10:26:43 GMT -5
Destroying the land with those mines! So do roads, buildings, overgrazing by cattle........ this will be a huge open pit mine and for what to to so called green energy battery cars it take coal to power plants big enough to supply power to charge this green thing is a big lie
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Post by parfive on Sept 15, 2023 16:54:45 GMT -5
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herb
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 445
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Post by herb on Sept 16, 2023 9:55:34 GMT -5
So do roads, buildings, overgrazing by cattle........ this will be a huge open pit mine and for what to to so called green energy battery cars it take coal to power plants big enough to supply power to charge this green thing is a big lie Less than 20% of US electricity production is from coal and it is going down every year. Over 21% is from renewables and it is going up every year. If you add nuclear to renewables because it doesnt produce greenhouse gases, then the figure is about 40%. It is short sighted to argue that a battery which gets 60% of its energy from fossil fuels is worse than an internal combustion engine that gets 100% of its energy from fossil fuels. Especially because the 60% for the battery is continually going down while the 100% for the ICE will never go down. Should we wait until 100% of electricity production is renewable before selling any electric vehicles?
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Post by roy on Sept 19, 2023 11:29:32 GMT -5
this will be a huge open pit mine and for what to to so called green energy battery cars it take coal to power plants big enough to supply power to charge this green thing is a big lie Less than 20% of US electricity production is from coal and it is going down every year. Over 21% is from renewables and it is going up every year. If you add nuclear to renewables because it doesnt produce greenhouse gases, then the figure is about 40%. It is short sighted to argue that a battery which gets 60% of its energy from fossil fuels is worse than an internal combustion engine that gets 100% of its energy from fossil fuels. Especially because the 60% for the battery is continually going down while the 100% for the ICE will never go down. Should we wait until 100% of electricity production is renewable before selling any electric vehicles? hey i live close to hanford that site may never be cleaned up ! you can call nuclear is green thats just nuts the waste from that is awful same as the batterys from the cars when they go bad and the wind mills are a joke cracked blades made of fiberglass put in a pit and covered up really!!
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Post by vegasjames on Sept 19, 2023 18:50:50 GMT -5
Less than 20% of US electricity production is from coal and it is going down every year. Over 21% is from renewables and it is going up every year. If you add nuclear to renewables because it doesnt produce greenhouse gases, then the figure is about 40%. It is short sighted to argue that a battery which gets 60% of its energy from fossil fuels is worse than an internal combustion engine that gets 100% of its energy from fossil fuels. Especially because the 60% for the battery is continually going down while the 100% for the ICE will never go down. Should we wait until 100% of electricity production is renewable before selling any electric vehicles? hey i live close to hanford that site may never be cleaned up ! you can call nuclear is green thats just nuts the waste from that is awful same as the batterys from the cars when they go bad and the wind mills are a joke cracked blades made of fiberglass put in a pit and covered up really!! The government deliberately released radioactive gasses from the Hanford Nuclear Power Plant for over 50 years to test the effects on the surrounding population before they were exposed and reported in the media.
Adding to your point, there is also a lot of carbon emissions emitted from the manufacturing of the concrete and cement used to make the nuclear plants, the smelting of metals used to make the plant, etc. No energy production form is truly green.
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realrockhound
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2020
Posts: 2,924
Member is Online
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Post by realrockhound on Sept 19, 2023 20:21:11 GMT -5
Generate electricity from harvesting energy from temperature change in the air.
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Post by parfive on Sept 19, 2023 20:37:20 GMT -5
Ah, what’s a little outgassin’ among friends. It’s not like the Marshall Islands where they popped off the equivalent of 1.6 Hiroshimas every day for a dozen years.
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Post by parfive on Sept 21, 2023 19:56:43 GMT -5
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