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Earth Notes: Lithium in the Paradox Basin

The bedrock walls along the San Juan River in Utah's Goosenecks State Park consist of the Honaker Trail Formation over the Paradox Formation.
James St. John
/
Creative Commons
The bedrock walls along the San Juan River in Utah's Goosenecks State Park consist of the Honaker Trail Formation over the Paradox Formation.

Renewable energy eases the world’s reliance on fossil fuels and cuts CO2 emissions. But the benefits of these advances also come with costs.

These technologies require metals, including the element lithium, which is in high demand for electric vehicle batteries and wind and solar energy storage. It’s so desirable some call it “white gold.”

Lithium occurs on the Colorado Plateau, notably in the Paradox Basin. This geologic feature stretches beneath a large expanse of the Four Corners, from southeast Utah into southwest Colorado and northern New Mexico. The Paradox Formation formed in an ancient ocean that left behind salt deposits several thousand feet underground.

Companies have set their sights on mining lithium contained in those salt brines. They want to plumb old oil and gas wells to test the brine. If the lithium proves recoverable, they propose to pump the brine to the surface, capture the lithium, and return the wastewater underground. A variation on this direct extraction process might also require evaporation ponds.

Whichever process is used, large amounts of land—and water—will be needed. For the southern Utah projects, water would come from the Green and Colorado rivers, and possibly aquifers.

There are other questions and concerns. Will direct extraction work at a commercial scale? Are there better mining techniques? Can EV batteries be recycled so less nonrenewable lithium is needed? Questions worth looking at in striking a balance between benefits and costs.

This Earth Note was written by Rose Houk and produced by KNAU and the Sustainable Communities Program at Northern Arizona University.

Rose Houk is a Flagstaff-based writer and editor, specializing in natural history and environmental topics.  Rose was a founding contributor of KNAU's Earth Notes and has written nearly 200 scripts for the series. She is also the author of many publications about national park and monuments, along with audio productions. 

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