Lithium extraction in Arkansas: the potential for a booming industry
By Valerie Zhang
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LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (KHBS, KHOG) — Global energy companies, scientists, and government leaders plan to discuss the supply chain needed for what researchers predict could be a booming lithium industry in South Arkansas.
“Some rough math on my part suggests that a mature lithium industry could be worth 3 billion bucks a year into the Arkansas economy,” said Erik Pollock, the director of the Stable Isotope Lab at the University of Arkansas. Pollock is leading much of the research at the University regarding lithium and lithium extraction.
According to estimates from a U.S. Geological Survey-led study, there could be up to roughly 19 million metric tons of lithium in the saltwater brine of the Smackover formation, which is a porous and permeable geological unit located 8,000 ft. below the surface. The formation extends underneath multiple southern states. The study estimated that if the amount of lithium predicted to be below southwestern Arkansas is processed for commercial use, it would meet the projected 2030 world demand for lithium in car batteries nine times over.
Pollock described that the need for more transportable power is greater than ever before. In addition to trends in the electric vehicle industry, the exponential growth of artificial intelligence and data centers means sourcing energy will be the question at the heart of powering the future.
Energy companies, including Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Koch Technology Solution, and Standard Lithium, are working on plans to build processing facilities that are operational by the end of the decade.
“Yes, we’re going to have plant operators, but we’ll also need truck drivers, we’ll need an accountant, you know, we’ll need a grocery store. And so, I believe it’s going to have a tremendous impact.”
Pollock is researching a process called direct lithium extraction (DLE), which would extract lithium from the saltwater brine, which is essentially very salty water, thousands of feet below the surface and return the rest back into the formation. He said the waste would be minimal.
Potential locations for the facilities include Magnolia and El Dorado.
Questions still remain about the exact impact the process and industry would have on the people living in the communities where the facilities are being planned.
The first Arkansas Lithium Summit was in February of 2024.
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