Massive Lithium Discovery in Arkansas Could Meet Global Demand ‘9 Times Over’: Study

‘We estimate there is enough dissolved lithium present in that region to replace U.S. imports of lithium and more,’ USGS hydrologist Dr. Katherine Knierim said.

The Smackover Formation in southwest Arkansas, the red-shaded sampling area within the inset, contains between 5 million and 19 million metric tons of lithium, according to a study by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment. United States Geological Survey

There could be enough lithium in an ancient seabed below southwest Arkansas to “meet projected 2030 world demand for lithium in car batteries nine times over,” a United States Geological Survey (USGS)-led study has found.

The study, a collaborative initiative between the USGS and the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment’s Office of the State Geologist, used a combination of water testing and machine learning to determine that there are between 5 million and 19 million tons of lithium within the Arkla Basin’s Smackover Formation, a seabed of porous, permeable limestone beneath parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida.