White gold

“Up from the ground came the bubblin’ crude, black gold, Texas Tea.” Great news for the Clampetts, soon to be the Beverly Hillbillies.

As the demand for alternative fuel vehicles grows, so does the demand for “white gold.” This gold isn’t meant for jewelry but instead comprises the chief ingredient in lithium carbonate, refined to build lithium-ion batteries. These liquid-cooled miracles of electron storage are found in modules, integrated into the floors of cars such as the Tesla, Audi e-tron, and countless others in the design phase headed for production.

Lithium mining operations are found on every continent except Antarctica but up to three-quarters of the known reserves are found in Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. Dissolved in brine at a depth of 65 feet, the solution is pumped to the surface and the water is allowed to evaporate, leaving a solar salt rich in lithium in a process not unlike the Cargill operation at the Blackmon Salt Mines on the Cimarron west of Freedom. Further processing removes sodium chloride, salt, potassium chloride and magnesium chloride, so it isn’t as simple as scraping and bagging!

Lithium has other uses as well for heat-resistant additives in ceramics, glass and lubricants.

In the recent past, most lithium was removed from hard-rock formations, but, like fracking, processing the water-extracted raw material is proving to be more cost-effective. Like Middle Eastern oil, “white gold” could mean a better life for South America but only if the wealth is used to bring technology to a largely agrarian populace.