By Steve Brawner, © 2024 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.
Could Arkansas be on the verge of a lithium boom? Many – including ExxonMobil experts – think so.
In fact, the state eventually could produce as much as 15% of the world’s finished lithium supply, said Commerce Secretary Hugh McDonald at the inaugural Arkansas Lithium Innovation Summit Feb. 15-16.
Lithium is the key element in the batteries that power everything from phones to electric cars. In many ways, it’s the 21st century’s oil. Much of the current lithium supply comes from overseas, and much of that comes from China.
The summit brought to Little Rock nearly 700 energy sector executives, policymakers and stakeholders. Some are investing big dollars here, including ExxonMobil, Standard Lithium, and Albemarle. The latter is already a major bromine producer in Arkansas with a workforce of 675 in the Magnolia area.
Patrick Howarth, ExxonMobil’s lithium global business manager, said that in the last 12 months, his company has built a leading acreage position in south Arkansas. (It acquired the rights to 120,000 gross acres in early 2023.) It’s also started the state’s largest lithium drilling campaign, conducted engineering design work on multiple projects, and showcased its Arkansas projects to global customers. He said the state “could be the center of the industry here in North America.”
Arkansas is home to significant lithium deposits in the Smackover Basin, a collection of saltwater brine 8,000 feet below the earth’s surface. The basin stretches from Texas to Florida, but Arkansas is the only one of those states with a developed bromine industry, meaning an infrastructure is already in place.
New direct lithium extraction technologies enable lithium to be separated from brine easier, cheaper and cleaner than traditional methods that derive the element using strip mining and evaporation ponds.
Standard Lithium: No reason to go anywhere else
Standard Lithium CEO Robert Mintak said the state is sitting on one of the world’s most prolific lithium brine resources, and also North America’s highest lithium concentrations.
“Comparing it to other projects in North America – I’m not trying to throw shade on anyone – there’s no reason anyone would go anywhere but Arkansas,” he said.
Arkansas not only could take a leading role in lithium extraction but also establish positions elsewhere in the supply chain, said Andrew Miller, CEO of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, a consulting firm. Another consultant, Bob Galyen, said manufacturers that locate near lithium mining operations can reduce the high cost of shipping and transportation.
In other words, if Arkansas produces lithium, it would be in a good position to produce products that use lithium.
At the Summit, speakers expressed genuine concern for the environment, but this was not primarily an environmental event. Many were businessmen.
And Arkansas is rolling out the welcome mat for them. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the state is already ahead of the curve thanks to its existing regulatory framework. She said Arkansas is taking an “all-of-government approach on lithium.”
The future?
What the future looks like – and how quickly we get to that future – remains to be seen. Remember, the Fayetteville shale play was huge in natural gas a number of years ago, until it crashed. Battery electric vehicles will drive much of the lithium industry’s growth because they use so much of it. But many hurdles must be overcome before those vehicles are widely available. They are more expensive that traditional internal combustion engine-powered vehicles, the nationwide charging infrastructure must be built out, and utilities will be challenged to supply enough electricity.
Also, there are many concerns associated with battery electric vehicle technology. Elements necessary for production currently come from countries with poor environmental and human righst records.
But this was made clear at the summit: If the United States doesn’t invest in lithium battery technologies, it will fall behind other countries, especially China, that are.
The lithium industry is one of several ways the future looks hopeful for Arkansas. The Camden area has become a hub for military weapons production. Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith will host a major international military pilot training center. Mississippi County in northeast Arkansas has become the country’s steel-producing capital.
And then there’s Walmart, of course. The world’s largest retailer continues to grow and attract suppliers to northwest Arkansas. It’s building a sprawling new corporate headquarters, so it’s not going anywhere.
Lithium looks poised to take its place among that list of major Arkansas industries. How big might it be?
Big enough that Exxon acquired the rights to 120,000 acres here and has started drilling. And it’s not alone.
Steve Brawner is a syndicated columnist published in 16 outlets in Arkansas. Email him at brawnersteve@mac.com. Follow him on Twitter at @stevebrawner