- Nevada-Oregon caldera hosts lithium clay estimated at 20-40 million tons
- Lithium discovery could reach $1.5 trillion at current market prices
- Quadruple-layered sediment and hydrothermal activity enriched clay with lithium elements
A research team has identified a large concentration of lithium-rich clay within the McDermitt Caldera, a collapsed supervolcano along the Nevada–Oregon border.
Current assessments suggest the region could hold between 20 – 40 million metric tons of lithium-bearing material.
If commercial activity confirms these estimates, the value could reach roughly $1.5 trillion at prevailing market prices.
Lithium – a major raw material for industries
The projected scale would make this one of the largest documented lithium deposits, and if commercial extraction proves viable, it could supply battery production for many years.
The material would serve sectors that depend on large-scale storage, including electric vehicles and consumer electronics.
It would also support computing systems used across industry, from workstations to smaller units such as mini PCs.
Geological analysis indicates that the caldera formed around 16 million years ago after a major eruption caused the underlying magma chamber to collapse.
Thick layers of ash cooled across the basin, and a long-lasting lake deposited further sediments over extended periods.
Hydrothermal activity continued as mineral-laden water moved upward into the soft mud layers, enriching them with lithium and other elements.
This process created clay bands with unusually high concentrations of lithium, some of which lie close enough to the surface to allow open-pit extraction.
The United States has relied heavily on the Silver Peak Mine in Nevada since the 1960s for domestic lithium supply.
Although discoveries like the Southern Arkansas deposit emerged last year, Silver Peak remains relevant.
The global demand outlook for lithium remains steep, with some analysts projecting an eightfold increase in required output by 2040.
A site of this scale could reduce long-standing dependence on a single mine and shift supply dynamics.
It will also help ease price swings, which have increased by over 1,500% in recent years and strained industries that rely on steady supplies of lithium and rare earth elements.
These materials are controlled in many nations, with China providing rare earth development assistance to Malaysia after restricting access to U.S. entities.
As battery research expands beyond lithium-based chemistries, such major discoveries become uncertain.
Sodium-ion cells are frequently cited as possible alternatives to lithium, but current versions lag in energy density and durability.
Because of this gap, lithium remains the dominant option for now. However, it is unknown whether long-term demand will maintain its current trajectory.
Via Tom’s Hardware
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