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US seeks new lithium sources as demand for batteries grows

FILE - Pieces of lithium sparkle in an ore sample in Prague, Czech Republic, on Tuesday, March 28, 2017. Recent explorations confirmed large deposits of lithium near the village of Cinovec northwest Czech Republic. Lithium — the lightest metal on Earth — was discovered by Swedish chemist Johan August Arfwedson more than 200 years ago. Since then, lithium and its compounds have been used in everything from psychiatric medicine to lubricating grease. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File) FILE - Discarded mobile phones fill a bin at the Out Of Use company warehouse in Beringen, Belgium on July 13, 2018. interest in lithium has exploded in recent years because of its use in rechargeable batteries for electric and hybrid cars, lawnmowers, power tools and more. Lithium batteries also power laptops and cell phones. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, File) FILE - Technical grade lithium carbonate comes off a conveyor belt during a tour of the Silver Peak lithium mine near Tonopah, Nev., on Monday, Jan. 30, 2017. The element is critical to development of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that are seen as key to reducing climate-changing carbon emissions created by cars and other forms of transportation. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP, File) FILE - Beth Leger, a plant ecologist at the University of Nevada, Reno, points to a tiny Tiehm's buckwheat that has sprouted at a campus greenhouse in this photo taken on Feb. 10, 2020 in Reno, Nevada. Their research is being funded by an Australian mining company that wants to mine lithium in the high desert 200 miles southeast of Reno, the only place the rare wildflower is known to exist in the world. UNR researchers are studying whether they can transplant the plant or seeds germinating in the greenhouse to the desert to bolster the native population. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner, File) FILE - An evaporation pond used to measure lithium and other minerals levels sits in the Uyuni salt desert near Colchani, Bolivia on Monday July 26, 2010. The salt flats of Uyuni have triggered international interest among energy companies due to its lithium reserves and Bolivia hopes the metal could power a green revolution when electric cars reach mass production. (AP Photo/Dado Galdieri, File) FILE - Derek Benson, chief operating officer of EnergySource Minerals, walks through the Featherstone plant in Calipatria, Calif., where the company is producing geothermal energy and extracting lithium from brine Friday, July 16, 2021. Benson says EnergySource Minerals has extracted lithium there on a small scale since 2016 and the company has plans to build a much larger addition for mineral extraction. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File) FILE - A Tesla battery pack is displayed during a media tour of the new Tesla Motors Inc., Gigafactory Tuesday, July 26, 2016, in Sparks, Nev. Interest in lithium has exploded in recent years because of its use in rechargeable batteries for electric and hybrid cars, lawnmowers, power tools and more. Lithium batteries also power laptops and cell phones. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File) FILE - From left, electric cars from Nissan, Tesla, and Toyota are presented at a news conference in Los Angeles on Dec. 13, 2013. Worldwide demand for lithium was about 350,000 tons (317,517 metric tons) in 2020, but industry estimates project demand will be up to six times greater by 2030. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File) FILE - A dried up portion of the Salton Sea stretches out with a geothermal power plant in the distance in Niland, Calif., Thursday, July 15, 2021. Demand for electric vehicles has shifted investments into high gear to extract lithium from geothermal wastewater around the rapidly shrinking body of water. The ultralight metal is critical to rechargeable batteries. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)