Beneath a forgotten supervolcano in the American West lies a deposit that could quietly disrupt the global energy race. Scientists uncovered minerals with unexpected concentrations. The real surprise isn’t just how much was found—but how it got there.
  • RentlarEnglish
    11·
    1 month ago

    Good for those geologists, but on the critical minerals front I’m more bullish on Sodium-ion (Na-ion) battery technology than Lithium.

    • TroyMEnglish
      2·
      20 days ago

      I agree. Except were energy density matters, sodium ion should win every time. It’s so much cheaper, less environmentally destructive to produce, and (if thinking very long term) can be made in situ in places like Mars one day. Lithium batteries will still have their place in handhelds, drones, etc.

      The problem is that not enough R&D and tech investment is happening on the sodium side.

  • GraniteM@lemmy.worldEnglish
    9·
    1 month ago

    I feel like this is the back story for some fucked up post-eco-apocalypse survival game.

    • 2025: Geologists Uncover the World’s “Largest Lithium Deposit” Under American Supervolcano, Worth 413 Billion Euros

    • 2037: Deep-bore mining of the supervolcano begins.

    • 2049: The supervolcano mine now accounts for 60% of all lithium mined, worldwide, despite increasingly urgent warnings by geologists of instability.

    • 2051: The Event.

    • 2057: Survivors of The Event begin to make contact across the ash desert once known as the United States.