A major lithium deposit discovered near the Portuguese border in Castilla Leon could power Spain’s energy future. Lithium deposit discoveries in the US and China could reshape the global race for the mineral, which is vital to the green energy transition.Found within the Conchas Project by Berkeley Energy, the 31 square kilometre site has been hailed financially as a highly significant resource that, if mined efficiently, could meet Spain’s lithium needs, reducing the country’s reliance on imports. Currently, most of the lithium Spanish battery manufacturers use comes from South America.
The project, which is still in feasibility studies, promises significant economic growth for the region but faces hurdles. Environmental groups warn that extraction could harm water resources and biodiversity, and they are calling for strict regulations to mitigate damage. Mining has not begun yet while studies continue.
Lithium mining approved by the Portuguese government .Chinese firms take interest Spanish lithium mines
Meanwhile, the discovery has sparked the interest of China. Lithium, vital for batteries in electric cars and devices, is a cornerstone of Beijing’s industry today. Chinese companies have already invested heavily in Latin America, buying up stakes in Chile’s SQM, Argentina’s Salar Centenario-Ratones (producing 24,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate), and Bolivia’s Uyuni plant. In 2023, Chinese company Yahua bought 15,000 tonnes of processed lithium from Brazil’s Sigma Lithium, tapping into a reserve of more than one million tonnes.
Now, China has taken a fancy to Spain’s lithium deposits. But is selling to China what the locals want? The Chinese owners of a mine in Chile’s Atacama are said to have been putting a strain on environmental concerns after doubling output. As Spain weighs economic gains against environmental costs, the question remains whether the lithium will become a national manufacturing resource or another Chinese one.
Nestled along the Nevada-Oregon border, the McDermitt Crater is quickly gaining global attention due to its unprecedented lithium deposit. This vast volcanic structure harbors the world’s largest known deposit of lithium, estimated to contain between 20 million and 40 million metric tons. With the surge in demand for lithium-driven technologies like electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy storage, this discovery has the potential to reshape both the U.S. and global markets.
Lithium deposit discoveries in the US and China could reshape the global race for the mineral, which is vital to the green energy transition.
One cache, found along the borders of Nevada and Oregon, potentially holds as much as 40 million metric tons of lithium, while Chinese state media said reserves had been found that upped its share of global lithium supplies from 6% to 16.5%, although details were scant.
Lithium is crucial to Net Zero ambitions, especially battery manufacturing, but until recently, prospecting for the mineral has been limited compared to fossil fuel exploration.
The global electric vehicle industry — albeit in fits and starts — is growing, with the US and China, in particular, vying for dominance. Lithium batteries are driving the shift: “Whoever wins the battery war will win it all,” Chinese economist Ren Zeping said in 2022.
Batteries account for about 40% of an EV’s cost, and global demand for batteries is projected to jump as much as tenfold by 2030, Dialogue Earth reported. China currently has the lead: The US has struggled to diversify its battery supply chain from China, as Beijing has control of some 60% of global lithium processing.
Lithium mining requires vast quantities of water: Approximately 2.2 million liters of water is needed to produce a ton of lithium, Euronews reported, meaning it is highly resource-intensive to produce.
Toxic chemicals released during the process can also contaminate local water supplies. In some countries at the forefront of the lithium boom, like Bolivia, reports emerged that suggested some lithium processing facilities may have mismanaged their water use, even as the government plans to expand the industry. With so few countries controlling lithium’s supply chain, some manufacturers are testing alternatives:
Sodium-ion batteries could be a cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternative, for example, but these are still in the early stages of development.
The McDermitt lithium deposit is a geological marvel, embedded in illite-rich clays that were formed millions of years ago through volcanic and hydrothermal activity. Unlike other lithium sources found in salt flats or pegmatites, this unique formation offers lithium concentrations that far surpass the norm.
As Belgian geologist Anouk Borst suggests, the discovery could “change the dynamics of lithium globally” by providing the U.S. with a significant, secure source of this critical metal forclean energy transitions.
