Event Details

Lithium was designated as a critical mineral by the U.S. Department of Interior in 2018. It is an essential component of lithium-ion batteries that have been used in consumer electronics since the 1990s. Future demand for lithium will come mainly from electric vehicles and utility-scale energy storage. Global lithium production currently comes primarily from Australia, Chile, Argentina and China. The U.S. is a minor producer at present but has significant undeveloped resources.


An overview of the chemical properties and natural occurrence of lithium will provide a basis of the review of four of the major U.S. resources – King's Mountain, North Carolina (pegmatite), Thacker Pass and Rhyolite Ridge, Nevada (volcanic-sourced clay), Silver Peak, Nevada (salar aquifer brine) and the Smackover Formation of East Texas and south Arkansas (deep reservoir brine). Recovery methods, processing and total potential for each resource area will be discussed. These four major resource types account for nearly all of the global lithium reserves.

Speakers

  • Chris McLindon (Director of Energy Education and Outreach at Louisiana State University Center for Energy Studies)

    Chris McLindon

    Director of Energy Education and Outreach at Louisiana State University Center for Energy Studies

    Chris McLindon is Director of Energy Education and Outreach at the Louisiana State University Center for Energy Studies. He oversees the development and implementation of educational programs. He also engages with key stakeholders including policymakers, industry professionals and the general public to promote awareness and understanding of key energy issues.

    Chris worked for four decades as a geologist in the upstream oil and gas industry, and more recently as a geologist in the carbon capture and storage industry. Chris holds a B.S. in Geology from LSU. He is a member and past president of the New Orleans Geological Society, and is a member of the Geological Society of America and the Society of Independent Professional Earth Scientists. Chris was the recipient of the 2017 Statesmanship Award from the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies for his work in collaborating with university researchers using oil and gas industry data to geological faults in south Louisiana.

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