In the high Nevadan desert near the Oregon border lies an enormous deposit of lithium, a metal that is essential in the production of electric car batteries. President Joe Biden wants to get it out of the ground. But its exploration is dividing communities which are usually on the same side of political arguments.
Environmentalists and native people cannot agree on whether a new rush for this “white gold” should be supported or fiercely opposed.
In March, the diggers moved into a stunningly beautiful area called Thacker Pass, 4,000ft (1,219m) above sea level. It was formed by an ancient volcano and has sagebrush valleys ringed by desolate mountain tops. After years of legal battles, Lithium Americas had finally won its bid to mine the area.
Split opinions
“Mining operations are in fact very damaging to the environment. And we’ve got to be very careful how we permit these things,” says John Hadder, director of local environmental charity Great Basin Resource Watch. “We can reduce demand for minerals by just changing habits. One thing I’m really concerned about is that we’re losing an opportunity to do other things to address climate change,” he says.
Glen Miller, who used to be on the board of Great Basin Resource Watch resigned after coming out in support of the mine. “I just think that climate change is so important, and lithium is so important for electrifying the transportation industry,” he says. Mr Miller is a former academic at the University of Nevada. Some of his research has been partly funded by Lithium Americas, but he denies that has anything to do with his stance on the mine. “[Some] environmentalists will say we should drive less, we should not use anything that requires us to pull these metals up. Nobody’s going to do that,” he says.
The mine itself is still in its infancy. Lithium will not be produced here until at least 2026 - and will go to General Motors. The worry that the People of the Red Mountain have now is that this mine is just the beginning. There is a lot of lithium here, and there are several companies hoping to mine it.
Tim Crowley, vice-president of government affairs at Lithium Americas, is pretty open about Lithium Americas’ ambitions for the area. “There has to be more [lithium] in the United States if it’s going to be self-sufficient. There has to be more, there has to be more development,” he says.
If he is right, the whole area, of stunning natural beauty, could be tarnished by lithium mines - and all in the name of saving the planet.
This is just one example of how there is no such thing as a free lunch and perhaps the switch to EV is not the only answer or not the easy answer. I note that Mercedes has started testing their hydrogen fuel cell engine for lorries.
It would seem that Australia is destroying the planet single handedly…With all the mining done in Australia, don’t you think it’s rough justice that the climate is making it unliveable?
The early demise of petrol and diesel cars also means that more Iron Ore needs to be mined to supply all the steel needed to produce new Electric Vehicles, Australia has one of the biggest Iron Ore mines in the world…According to Wiki… Which country is the largest producer of iron ore?
Australia
The top iron ore producing countries of the World are Australia, Brazil, China, India, and Russia. They account for 80 % of the world’s Iron-ore production. Australia is the largest producer of Iron Ore in the world, with 37.6% of the global production. Wasn’t drilling for oil a lot less of a blot on the landscape?
And you can produce lots of things with oil…
EV production replaces other car production, it is not on top of other car production. So the total need for steel remains roughly the same.
And as for oil production. Your quaint nodding donkey photo can be supplemented with oil spill photo. Pretty is it not?
Apparently there are a lot of people buying EV’s to replace their conventional engined vehicle before it’s time Lincs. So I don’t think that comment is factually correct…
Fortunately oil spills are rare, but deadly to flora and fauna when an accident occurs.
Lithium is being used in all walks of life and demand will increase ten fold. Not to mention the fuels used to generate electricity to provide the extra load on the nation grid. Wind turbines cost a fortune to build, install and maintain, and oil lubricates the complex gearboxes.
Apparently, a wind turbine does not cover it costs until 10 years. Some don’t even last that long. Blades need replacing on a regular basis, and until now can’t be recycled.
That may be true. Then they are selling or passing on their old car. And the recipient of that car will not be buying any other cars. Peak car sales in the UK was 2016 at 2.7m and apart from pandemic time its been around 2.35m since. EVs made up just 16% of car sales in 2023. As a comparison, 2010 to 2018 saw a near double of car sales in China (conventional cars) from 12m to 24.5m - so if you need a source of the rise of demand for steel don’t look to EVs.
There is no evidence of a massive upswing in car sales, simply a switch to EVs. Net result is not much more steel is required. Homework and google searches yes, steel no.
