Arkansas may be sitting on 19 million tons of lithium
Researchers now estimate how much “white gold” may be found in southern Arkansas’s vast lithium reserves: up to 19 million tons, or enough to meet the projected 2030 world demand nine times over.
United States Geological Survey (USGS) researchers used water testing and machine learning to get an estimate of what might be found in an underground brine in the Smackover Formation in southern Arkansas, a relic of an ancient sea that is now a vast limestone formation that stretches from Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, and into Florida. The researchers announced that it could contain anywhere from 5 million to 19 million tons of lithium.
“If commercially recoverable, the amount of lithium present would meet projected 2030 world demand for lithium in car batteries nine times over,” the researchers said in a news release.
Published in the journal Science Advances, the study cites that the lithium found in southern Arkansas could make up to 36% to 136% of the current US lithium reserve estimate – of course, that’s a sweeping number, but we get the gist. A lot of lithium, but the problem is how to get it out.
Lithium extraction – a nascent industry in the US – usually involves open-pit drilling and creating huge evaporation pools, all which can take months and years and leave destruction in their wake. Last year, ExxonMobil acquired the rights to 120,000 gross acres of the Smackover formation in southern Arkansas and have been using oil and gas drilling methods to access the saltwater brine about 10,000 feet underground.
To extract the lithium, the company uses direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology, in which brine is pumped to the surface, then lithium and other minerals are extracted before sending the water back underground. It’s touted as more environmentally friendly, but climate activists say the technology is largely untested and question the danger of using it at scale and how it could affect the water supply. Exxon has said that it aims to enter production in 2027, according to a report in the New York Times, and “to be churning out enough lithium by 2030 to supply more than a million electric vehicles per year.”
Of course, there are other hurdles. According to the Arkansas Times, five corporations in total have been looking to start extracting lithium in southern Arkansas, and are currently locked in a dispute with landowners over how much to pay for mineral rights. The companies – Albemarle Corporation, ExxonMobil, Standard Lithium, Lanxess, and Tetra Technologies Inc. – filed a joint application in late July to set a royalty rate of 1.82%, which landowners say would allow the companies to illegally bypass the state’s rulemaking process.
To get to their estimates, researchers took samples from Arkansas and analyzed them at the USGS Brine Research Instrumentation and Experimental lab in Reston, Virginia, and then compared them with data from historic samples within the USGS Produced Waters Database of water from hydrocarbon production. Using machine learning, researchers combined lithium concentrations in brines with geological data to create maps that predict total lithium concentrations across the region, even in areas lacking lithium samples.
“Our research was able to estimate total lithium present in the southwestern portion of the Smackover in Arkansas for the first time,” said Katherine Knierim, a hydrologist and the study’s principal researcher. While noting that the estimates are “an in-place assessment,” she adds that they “estimate there is enough dissolved lithium present in that region to replace US imports of lithium and more.”
Photo: Courtesy of the United States Geological Survey
Read more: A California lake has enough lithium to power 375 million EVs
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Electric vehicles’ share of the market continues to climb in America’s second city, with BEV registrations up more than 50% in the first quarter of 2025 compared with the same period last year. Great news, but charging hasn’t up – but a new plan from Chicago Department of Transportation aims to build up enough infrastructure for the city to keep up.
In a bid to keep up with the rapid growth of EVs, Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT is currently seeking public feedback on a plan called “Chicago Moves Electric Framework.” The city’s first such plan, it outlines initiatives that include a curbside charging pilot through the city’s utility, ComEd, and expanded charging access in key areas throughout the city.
Unlike other such plans, however, the new plan aims to focus on bringing electric vehicle charging to EIEC and low income communities, too.
“Through this framework, we are setting clear goals and identifying solutions that reflect the voices of our residents, communities, and regional partners,” said CDOT Commissioner Tom Carney. “By prioritizing equity and public input, we’re creating a roadmap for electric transportation that serves every neighborhood and helps drive down emissions across Chicago.”
Neighborhoods on the south and west sides of Chicago experience a disproportionate amount of air pollution and diesel emissions, largely due to vehicle emissions according to CDOT. Despite that, most of Chicago’s public charging stations are clustered in higher-income areas while just 7.8% are in environmental justice neighborhoods that face higher environmental burdens.
“Too often, communities facing the greatest economic and transportation barriers also experience the most air pollution,” explains Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. “By prioritizing investments in historically underserved areas and making clean transportation options more affordable and accessible, we can improve both mobility and public health.”
The Framework identifies other near-term policy objectives, as well – such as streamlining the EV charger installation process for businesses and residents and implementing “Low-Emission Zones” in areas disproportionately impacted by air pollution by limiting, or even restricting, access to conventional medium- and heavy-duty vehicles during peak hours.
The Chicago Moves Electric Framework includes the installation of Level 2 and DC fast charging stations in public locations such as libraries and Chicago’s Midway Airport, “supporting not only personal EVs but also electric taxis, ride-hail and commercial fleets.”
Chicago has a goal of installing 2,500 public passenger EV charging stations and electrifying the city’s entire municipal vehicle fleet by 2035.
Electrek’s Take
I hate to sound like a bed-wetting liberal here, guys, but Chicago is getting EVs absolutely right with big utility incentives on both vehicles and infrastructure, a governor willing to stand behind smart environmental policy, and a solid push for more and better infrastructure in the areas where they’ll do the most good. They’re even thinking of the children.
Here’s hoping more cities follow suit.
SOURCE: ComEd, via Smart Cities Dive; featured image by EVgo.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
With a fully-enclosed, G-Wagen-inspired body and an 80 mile electric range, the Bodo G-Wagon golf cart is the NEV you need when you decide it’s time to get serous one-upping the rest of the Palm Beach country clubbers.
If you love the look of the $230,000 Mercedes-Benz G580 off-roader, but think the 579 hp, 6,800 lb. electric 4×4 is probably overkill for occasional trips to the golf course and country club, this G-Wagen-inspired golf cart might be just what you’re looking for.
The shiny black 2024 Bodo G-Wagon sold at Mecum Auctions last month for $31,900, which seems like it might not be a lot of money to the sort of person who decides to take a flyer on a goofy, limited-use EV that ships with real, metal doors, power windows, heating and air conditioning, fully digital instrument cluster and infotainment, and a “posh,” caramel leather interior.
It even has windshield wipers, power steering, and a rear-seat entertainment system that’s built into the front headrests!
It’s really nice in there
Under the hood, the Bodo packs a 15 kW (20 hp) electric motor drawing power from a 10 kWh li-ion battery that won’t deliver a scorching 0-60 mph time (it only goes 35), but will deliver you and your buddies from one end of any golf course in North America and back several times over, thanks to the G-Wagon’s 80 mile range.
The official Mecum Auctions listing goes into a bit more detail, and I’ve included it here, in case it gets deleted after a while and you’re just finding this for the first time in 2027:
Be the envy of any country club or golf community showing up with this 2024 Bodo G-Wagon Golf Cart. Perhaps more appropriately known as an E-Wagon, this baby G-Wagon is powered by a 15kW motor with a 10kWh lithium battery. Boasting an 80-mile range and a 35 MPH top speed, the Bodo is an enclosed, luxury golf cart that pampers occupants with heating and air conditioning, rear-seat entertainment, power windows, power locks and a posh, caramel-colored interior. With the Bodo fitted with power steering and 4-wheel power disc brakes with brake boost, drivers will think they’re in a full-size G-Wagon, thanks to the multiscreen entertainment cluster, the rearview camera, windshield wipers, turn signals, running lights and so much more.
Finished in black with the right amount of brightwork, the overall vibe is one of jaw-dropping, smile-inducing fun. While the Bodo would be an excellent choice for any golf community, it should also prove to be hugely popular around a race track or car condo community as well, or maybe even a neighborhood with its own airplane runways. Over the past decade in particular, the demand for unique, luxury golf carts has been on the rise, and understandably so. The number of luxury communities with specific interests in sports, aero and auto has also been on the rise, with people buying homes in these exclusive locations to better engage with like-minded people. All too often a golf cart is the perfect way to get around these gated neighborhoods, and this one is enclosed, comes with the amenities of a full-size car and is infinitely more stylish.
You can check out a few more photos of the 2024 Bodo G-Wagon golf cart that sold at Mecum, below – and if you want one for yourself, you’re in luck! I found this brand-new 2025 “G600 E-Wagon” (in white) for $23,900 at Gulf Carts in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. Head on down to the comments and let us know if you buy it.
G-Wagon golf cart gallery
SOURCE | LOTS MORE PHOTOS: Mecum Auctions.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Best of all? Contractors won’t call you unless you give them your number. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway