USGS report finds hundreds of thousands of metric tons of lithium oxide in Maine, New Hampshire
By Kendra Broddus
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DURHAM, New Hampshire (WMUR) — Lithium is a hot commodity used to power devices such as phones, computers and electric vehicles.
A new U.S. Geological Survey report found about 900,000 metric tons of lithium oxide in the Northern Appalachian region, concentrated in New Hampshire and Maine.
According to the USGS, the resource could help produce millions of lithium batteries. It also projects global lithium production capacity will double by 2029 due to rising demand.
“This is a new resource that is in demand. So I think it puts us in a position where we can evaluate the potential for extracting that resource for economic good,” said Matt Davis, an earth sciences professor at the University of New Hampshire.
Davis said lithium is found in a mineral called spodumene, which occurs in pegmatite rocks made up of very large crystals.
New Hampshire has a lot of pegmatite, which is extracted through spodumene mining.
“The extraction of the spodumene from the rock then that needs to be processed chemically to extract the lithium from this spodumene. The lithium comprises about 10% of the spodumene crystal,” Davis said.
He said spodumene mining is generally considered cleaner than mining metals like lead or copper because it does not produce sulfuric acid. However, he said an environmental assessment would still be needed.
“I think an environmental assessment of spodumene mining to extract lithium is warranted. It is a different process, it’s a different chemistry than what we have with some of the other metal,” Davis said.
There are no known plans to mine spodumene in New Hampshire, though Davis said there is potential.
“It would be good for policymakers to evaluate what would need to be done to mine spodumene in New Hampshire,” he said.
News 9 reached out to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services about potential requirements for mining. The agency has not yet responded.
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