A researcher has shed light on the significant hurdle faced in accessing the highly-discussed $540 billion ‘white gold’ discovery.
Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are believed to be the primary beneficiaries after a study unveiled enormous amounts of ‘white gold’ at the bottom of a lake.
While the existence of the mine has been known for some time, recent findings by experts indicate that its lithium reserves could be valued at an astounding $540 billion.
To put this into perspective, this amount of lithium could power over 382 million electric vehicle batteries, potentially transforming our current modes of transportation.
Sammy Roth, climate columnist for the Los Angeles Times, stated, “There’s potentially enough lithium down there to supply batteries for 382 million electric vehicles, which is more, more vehicles than there are on the road in the United States today.”
“So, if we could get all that lithium, that’d be huge.”
Many anticipate that Musk and Bezos will benefit from the discovery due to their involvement in the electric vehicle industry through their respective companies.
Musk leads Tesla, which he founded in 2003, while Bezos is a significant investor in Rivian.
Although the Twitter owner and Amazon founder might be eager to acquire the lithium, a scientist has highlighted a major challenge that may impede their progress.
Pat Dobson, a staff scientist at Berkeley Lab, explained to SFGATE that extracting the lithium is ‘no simple task’.
So, how will the extraction process work?
According to SFGATE, geothermal production wells will be used to draw lithium-rich brine from depths thousands of feet below the Earth’s surface.
The lithium is then separated from the brine, allowing the remaining liquid to be pumped back underground, as described by Dobson.
While Dobson noted the water usage as the ‘main impact’ of the operation, he did not elaborate to SFGATE on the source of the water.
Robert Schettler, a press officer for the Imperial Irrigation District, informed the outlet that the Colorado River is the region’s sole water source.
As Musk and Bezos await developments, they are pursuing other strategies for their electric vehicle businesses.
Currently, Tesla obtains some of its lithium from China, while Rivian is reported to have signed a recent five-year agreement with LG Energy Solution, a company based in South Korea, according to Utility Dive.