From the mid-to-late 1800s, a remote region of Nevada known as Silver Peak was one of the United States’ best sources for silver and gold, helping pay for the country’s westward expansion. Roughly 150 years later it’s now home to the United States’ only lithium mine, churning out 5,000 metric tons of unprocessed lithium a year, which help power our growing demand for batteries used in nearly every phone, laptop, and electric vehicle.
After the lithium is extracted, it is sent to Albemarle’s Kings Mountain processing facility in North Carolina, closing a domestic supply loop. While small compared to America’s total lithium demand of over 500,000 metric tons by 2032, it’s an important sliver of the U.S. supply chain. It is also a glimpse of what the U.S. lithium supply chain is capable of, and a sneak peek at our clean energy future.
