In order to speak for our clients to Congress, I find it first necessary to listen. Working to assist Western Lithium USA implement their government relations strategy, I have been listening to everybody, from Assistant Secretary Sandalow to battery manufacturers such as Johnson Controls, share their views about the important role of lithium and lithium-ion batteries to help wean us off our collective oil addiction.
What I’ve learned is that while lithium is found in many places around the world, it is commercially viable to mine and process in very few places. Western Lithium USA is working to develop a deposit of 11 million tons lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) – the fifth largest known lithium deposit in the world. What makes it stand out from The New York Times headline-grabbing likes of Afghanistan and Bolivia is that the Nevada project is actually commercially viable.
Nevada’s lithium will power America’s plug-in vehicle batteries long before these other projects are developed, if ever. That’s good news to counter those who’re concerned that through the electrification of transportation, we are simply exchanging dependency on foreign oil for dependency on foreign lithium. It’s also good news for Nevada, where the project will create about 150 jobs. And thanks in part to the interest generated by the recent coverage of Afghanistan’s $1 trillion deposit and some quick work by Public Affairs Account Supervisor Mike Draper in our Reno office, the news about Western Lithium USA’s project is starting to spread.
