Lithium Valley, California

[SubLGT]

https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/05/20200514-cec.html

Quote
...The California Energy Commission (CEC) awarded $7.8 to two lithium recovery projects. Uniquely high concentrations of the dissolved soft metal are found in the brine produced by the state's geothermal hotspots.

The Salton Sea Known Geothermal Area contains an estimated six million tons of recoverable lithium within presently available geothermal resources. Yet, significant barriers stand in the way of accessing this abundant resource and using it to achieve many of the state's statutory energy goals, including increasing the value of geothermal resources to California's electricity system...

...California's vast lithium deposits—as much as one third of the world's current lithium demand according to some industry estimates—are also seen as a way to propel the state's green economy. Deposits in the Imperial Valley alone could potentially produce up to $860 million annually in revenues, according to the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory....

...The major challenges for lithium production in this region relate to the harsh chemistry of the brine and the difficultly of developing a low-cost and highly selective process for lithium recovery. These challenges have to date prevented commercial deployment of conventional lithium recovery technologies.

The new lithium recovery projects awarded funding are designed to help reduce costs and environmental impact...

 

[Chris142]

California wont let it happen

 

[A_Harman]

How convenient. California, the home state of Tesla and birthplace of the electric car mandate has huge Lithium deposits in the Salton Sea.

$7.8 million(?) is chump change for getting any serious mining operation underway.

Wonder how much of the $7.8 mil will fund the campaigns of politicians who support the electric car mandate.

 

[CT8]

 

[Lyman]

Well, that should cover the permits.

 

[SubLGT]

Originally Posted by Chris142
California wont let it happen


Not true. California is making it happen.

.
Quote
..In February, the California Energy Commission (CEC) and the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), jointly hosted a symposium facilitating presentations and panel discussions on lithium recovery from geothermal brine in California.

The theme for this symposium was introducing California's "Lithium Valley" vision of establishing a world-class lithium industry in the state. A focus is advancing California's unique opportunity to recover lithium from geothermal brine in support of California's clean energy future...

 

[Mainia]

GM shakes up lithium industry with California geothermal project

General Motors Co (GM.N) is investing in a U.S. lithium project that could become the country's largest by 2024, making the automaker one of the first to develop its own source of a battery metal crucial for the electrification of cars and trucks.

www.reuters.com

 

[JeffKeryk]

How convenient. California, the home state of Tesla and birthplace of the electric car mandate has huge Lithium deposits in the Salton Sea.

$7.8 million(?) is chump change for getting any serious mining operation underway.

Wonder how much of the $7.8 mil will fund the campaigns of politicians who support the electric car mandate.

Mandate?

 

[4WD]

Mandate?

That’s the day you trade that Tundra on a Tesla truck

 

[KrisZ]

Wow, all that free wind, sun and now lithium. CA residents rejoice, your energy costs are about to go up.
Before I moved out, my neighbour with solar panels was asking me about my electric bill. I asked why since he’s got the panels. He said even with the panels he is paying about $150/month plus the loan on the panels.
I recalled a notice I received from the electric company that they would be reducing the payout for each KWH produced by the residential solar panels, which coincides with CA mandate for all new construction to have solar. That area, San Joaquin County, has a ton of new construction going on.

 

[Rmay635703]

And unlike the Chinese cell company owned open pit mines everyone shows pictures of as a hit piece on “lithium mining” these mines will be less visible (water extraction) or in the case of a salt dome mine invisible to the naked eye.

the salton sea area is about the ugliest place on earth anyway so anything there is an improvement

The local Salton homeless drifters and Jesus mountain folks will be none to happy seeing jobs locally though

 

[Astro14]

The Salton Sea was formed through what was, essentially, an industrial accident. Imperial county was already an agricultural center by the mid 1800s and used the Colorado river to irrigate crops. A levee broke during strong water flow from the Colorado river in 1905, flooding the valley to the North over the next couple of years. It became the Salton sea.

In the 1950s, developers tried to market the Salton sea as beach front property, but it was too saline for most uses, and it was already slowly evaporating because the natural flow of water into it was insufficient to maintain the level.

You can see the “beachfront” homes now sitting hundreds of yards from the water as the sea recedes. It’s been receding for decades, even though farmers and residents have tried to add water to it.

It reeks from the fish die off, algal blooms, and other side effects of high salinity, fertilizer and insufficient water.

The whole thing is a disaster, made possible by a long history of disaster and mistakes.

It’s a good area for practicing aircraft weapons delivery...and low level flying…because the weather is good and the land is sparsely populated.

 

[Job]

The Salton Sea was formed through what was, essentially, an industrial accident. Imperial county was already an agricultural center by the mid 1800s and used the Colorado river to irrigate crops. A levee broke during strong water flow from the Colorado river in 1905, flooding the valley to the North over the next couple of years. It became the Salton sea.

In the 1950s, developers tried to market the Salton sea as beach front property, but it was too saline for most uses, and it was already slowly evaporating because the natural flow of water into it was insufficient to maintain the level.

You can see the “beachfront” homes now sitting hundreds of yards from the water as the sea recedes. It’s been receding for decades, even though farmers and residents have tried to add water to it.

It reeks from the fish die off, algal blooms, and other side effects of high salinity, fertilizer and insufficient water.

The whole thing is a disaster, made possible by a long history of disaster and mistakes.

It’s a good area for practicing aircraft weapons delivery...and low level flying…because the weather is good and the land is sparsely populated.

Reading more, I read it was a lake/desert/lake/desert for millions of years. It took human beings to mess it up. Its way below sea level, interesting area.
There is no mandate for ev’s I know of anywhere in CA. I think there was an executive order on a planned date, that won’t stay, not a law. No way Jose, not in the land of the custom car and hot rod. Beach boys, convertibles, woodies, and all that. They even smog exempt 75 or older cars, opening up everything in that time period to modification and customization. You can do anything you want to your pre 76 car and no one knows anything about it.

 

[Rmay635703]

Reading more, I read it was a lake/desert/lake/desert for millions of years. It took human beings to mess it up. Its way below sea level, interesting area.

sounds like a prime environment to install a dyke and tunnel to the ocean, combined with a salt dome mine you could reduce the salt flat effect (mine would continuously consume the lithium and other table salts underground)
Could also raise the water level (less of an eyesore)
Raised water levels would cool the environment (better for human workers)

The sea could then be a spa location like the Dead Sea

 

[PandaBear]

sounds like a prime environment to install a dyke and tunnel to the ocean, combined with a salt dome mine you could reduce the salt flat effect (mine would continuously consume the lithium and other table salts underground)
Could also raise the water level (less of an eyesore)
Raised water levels would cool the environment (better for human workers)

The sea could then be a spa location like the Dead Sea

Not likely to be a Dead Sea. There was lots of agricultural runoff and pollution into the area and population nearby has much higher aspirational illness. Mostly low income unemployed population, and it is pretty much a beach front slum.

It would probably be a good place to "mine" all sorts of stuff not just lithium. Maybe they can get some other useful waste that can be turned back into fertilizer. I'm surprised it is not an superfund site yet.

 

[Rmay635703]

Not likely to be a Dead Sea. There was lots of agricultural runoff and pollution into the area and population nearby has much higher aspirational illness.

It would probably be a good place to "mine" all sorts of stuff not just lithium.

Ethically mining using a dome mine would extract anything that can dissolve which is close to 100 compounds, non ethical would just be a Chinese special making the sea into a pit mine

I'm surprised it is not an superfund site yet.

Many areas that could be a superfund are ignored if
1. Happened a hundred years ago +
2. Population levels are low and usually poor

Not much different than the many cases where Georgia Pacific uses poor black neighborhoods to dump toxic waste.

If ocean water were tunneled over to the Sea it would raise water levels and not so gradually salinify the Sea so unless a mining interest was processing “salt” out of the water rapidly enough the high rate of evaporation in the area would convert it into a brine environment like the salt flats or Dead Sea

The reason the Sea isn’t fresh water today (but was initially) is due to the high rates of evaporation

 

[BLND1]

Originally Posted by Chris142
California wont let it happen


Not true. California is making it happen.

.
Quote
..In February, the California Energy Commission (CEC) and the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), jointly hosted a symposium facilitating presentations and panel discussions on lithium recovery from geothermal brine in California.

The theme for this symposium was introducing California's "Lithium Valley" vision of establishing a world-class lithium industry in the state. A focus is advancing California's unique opportunity to recover lithium from geothermal brine in support of California's clean energy future...

You haven’t a clue. California wanted high speed rail to happen too. I can tell you that California has neither the management acumen nor the regulatory flexibility to make these types of projects work with any sort of budget or schedule.

One of the stakeholder agencies WILL go rogue and make life miserable for everyone.

7.8 million will cover the draft EIR and resultant lawsuits.

 

[A_Harman]

Mandate?

The mandate of which I speak is the one the legislature passed in 1990 (or thereabouts) that said by 1998, 10% of the cars sold in California had to be full electric. GM took the bait, and spent $1billion on the Impact, thinking there would be a guaranteed market. There wasn't. So now California doesn't bother with passing laws, they just rule these things into existence by Executive Order, whether from the governor or CARB.

 

[Al]

California wont let it happen

This

 

[PandaBear]

The mandate of which I speak is the one the legislature passed in 1990 (or thereabouts) that said by 1998, 10% of the cars sold in California had to be full electric. GM took the bait, and spent $1billion on the Impact, thinking there would be a guaranteed market. There wasn't. So now California doesn't bother with passing laws, they just rule these things into existence by Executive Order, whether from the governor or CARB.

There always are ways, CARB is one but the bigger one last decade is the carpool lane sticker you can get. A lot of people were buying Prius not to save gas but to get in the carpool lane to save 1 hr of commute time per day.

First it was given to those Prius back in the 2004-2008 or so days, then around 2011 to 2019 they gave them out to EVs. Now EVs are everywhere they are doing other stuff of course.

Don't forget that the 2008's $120 / barrel (which translate to $5 / gal here in California) jump started the rising hybrid / EV market.

In a way, had GM stick to some of its momentum they would have won the hybrid market like Ford / Toyota did back then. At least GM is coming back strong with Volt and Bolt, and the EV market is really here.