In California, a lithium gold rush at the edge of a dying sea
- Far beneath the shrinking inland Salton Sea are lithium reserves so large they could meet all US needs, but it remains to be seen if a battery industry can be developed
- The deposits are viewed as crucial to the US bid to reduce China’s dominance of the element, essential to the building of batteries powering 21st century vehicles
Maria Nava-Froelich, the mayor of Calipatria, California, watched geothermal mud bubble up like a prehistoric stew on the edge of the Salton Sea. Fed by the diminishing Colorado River, the state’s largest inland sea is shrinking, spreading toxic pesticide dust and lung disease in its wake, decimating fish populations, threatening migratory birds.
But there’s gold under that ooze. Massive quantities of lithium, once considered worthless, sit more than a mile beneath the geothermal muck in the desert north of Mexico and east of San Diego – enough to meet all of America’s needs and even some exports, if it can be extracted commercially.
That’s left Nava-Froelich and others here in impoverished Imperial County dreaming of the next California gold rush as Washington struggles to loosen China’s muscular grip on this vital building block of 21st century economies.
“There’s a lot of excitement with the lithium,” Nava-Froelich said. “The resources could help out globally, help us here, help deal with China so we’re not so dependent on them.”
She paused. “But we’ve had a lot of hopes before that have not come about.”
Worldwide demand for lithium, used in batteries powering everything from electric vehicles to fighter jets, is projected to grow fivefold by 2030. That’s sparked huge interest in Beijing, Washington – and California, which sees “Lithium Valley” as its VIP ticket to the green economy, building on Silicon Valley’s success.
