Why Tesla and GM Are Betting on U.S. Mines Now | WSJ
The U.S. is racing to secure its own lithium and nickel, which is used in battery production for products like EVs and other tech. Today, China produces more than 85% of the world’s batteries. So how is the U.S. pushing to mine battery metals needed for the energy transition and for national security?
WSJ takes an inside look at two projects that are seeking to change the mineral supply chain, the Thacker Pass Lithium Mine in Nevada and the Tamarack Mine in Minnesota.
Chapters:
0:00 U.S. mines
0:49 Supply chain stakes
2:06 Lithium Americas
3:15 Talon Metals
4:37 Challenges
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Can you explain why America's goal is not to build your own supply chain, but rather to "break" others'? Why is it that only America is allowed to succeed in the world, but when others succeed, they need to be "broken"? 😂
Can you explain why is America's goal not to build your own supply chain, but rather to "break" China's? 🤔 Why is it that only America is allowed to succeed in the world, but when others succeed, their successes need to be broken? 😂
Moon mining is the future
6:46 6:46
Have to clear a lot of land to add solar panels.
Wait a second. The Salton Sea in California is not on the USA's largest lithium deposit, but largest in the world.
This is not Slaton Sea this is the large volcano caldera near McDermott in the very north of Nevada, this is a different project. There is also the one in California where NASA is fighting against mining as they use it for Satellite calibration but they seem to have worked out a deal there I think.
I think Salton Sea is bigger
Lithium is a fairly abundant element. But it is one of the most reactive metal elements on the periodic table. You'll never find a seam of Lithium like you might find a seam of Gold in nature. Lithium is always found in an oxidised state, usually as a salt, bound with another element. The Mining of Lithium is totally predicated on what it has bound to, and what process you can use to refine it. I'm West Australian. By some measures we have the worlds largest Lithium mine here, but that mine is extracting Lithium from a very tough, unweathered rock, and we do a lot of that around here. Like Chile and the Salton Sea, we also have Lithium in dried salt lakes, but that takes large amounts of water to process, and we're so short of water we drink desalinated sea water. - So we don't process that Lithium, it's not economical here. There is also a trillion tons of Lithium in Sea Water, but it is presently uneconomic to try and extract that. Lithium's not that hard to find, it's the processing and extraction that costs money and materials. Lithium exists around the world about as commonly as Chlorine. The Rare Earth Metals you hear about that are short on supply are heavy metals like Neodymium and Dysprosium that are metals nearly as heavy as Lead that can be magnetised and used in electric motors. Cobalt is a lighter metal that is also rare, and it's useful as an anode in batteries. Fun Fact - Lithium burns a brilliant Scarlet Colour, and has been used to make Red Fireworks for a thousand years.
Deposit size isn't the only important factor. It needs to have grades high enough to be economically extracted. I personally expect Bonnie Claire to claim the title of largest economic deposit, if it ever gets drilled out.
@@psylantwolf It's both the concentrations, as well as the mineral state that the lithium's in. If the concentration's high enough, even a hard to process mineral type can be profitable.
I personally believe that's a good initiative by the US govt.
😂
I agree. Energy independence is a strategic move both for the economy and for our military.
Would you prefer a Chinese firm to be operating it? Because they’re definitely capable of it. They’ve sneakily bought land under thousands of false firms and companies
I, too, enjoy when the little people pay for my luxury EV. We need much more of this so I can drive around smugly signaling my virtue on climate.
Bringing jobs back state side and becoming independent of other nations especially with the ev race between China, its a good initiative just a little late feels rushed with the ev boom
infrastructure bill, CHIPs act, and investing in development of US supply chain for lithium were best investments.
they aren't investments. This is wasting government taxpayer money.
@davidanalyst671 why is that?
@@ExceptionalLibrahe has no answer. Just contrarianism
Great report thanks
I do enjoy wsj videos, thank you 🙏
I don’t think the problem is extracting it… the problem is the use of water and how to dispose of said water once it is used for its purpose. Is it toxic? And to what extent?
What water? For the lithium mine they'll have to transport it in from the surrounding lakes that support the local small towns. That high desert region will just eventually turn to sand and only sand.
This report really left out a lot, as regards lithium mining. The big news is the newer extraction methods. There are methods that can extract lithium from fluids without any adverse environmental impacts. These are feasible at certain sites in California. I think the Salton Sea is one. Not sure if they could be used in the region mentioned in this video.
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Yes
We are in for a painful near future. Over decades of offshoring and disinvestment we have forgotten how to build many things. Mines, power plants, chip factories, transmission lines, subway systems, shipping are all needed and yet we struggle to produce them. We used to be world class builders in all of these. But we failed to train the current generations on the skills needed for such things and now we will have to slowly relearn. I pray there is the political will to continue these investments when inevitably problems arise and costs balloon. This is unavoidable at first but with enough funds and time we can regain our position as world class builders.
Remember Good times create weak men ! Until hard times come back again USA gonna stay like this !
Getting a permit is almost impossible today because of unreasonable environmental activists, the recovered Non Human technology currently being hoarded by mega corporations and world governments would make mining more efficient and have a near zero environmental impact.
Mg as byproduct, nice. Its needed in the near future as contruction material. Its not a lithium mine nor magnesium mine, turns out its actually a gold mine.
Thacker Pass is a beautiful area....sad it's going to get destroyed.
This is good.
Im so glad to see discussions about the minerals supply chain. Its absolutely critical to the American standard of living yet mining is so opposed in the USA.
It's a dilemma we have shipped overseas and now those countries aren't so nice, so we're back at square one.
@@LockheedMartinEnjoyer Yah! I think it is an over-reaction. It is pretty cold-hearted, and real politik, but I thought it was good policy to keep extracting resources from the rest of the world. Once you allow, "moral indignation" to be a force in decision making, it becomes a slippery slope down. If you think African 13 yo miners are outrageous? Wait until you see a kid from Nevada picking at the rocks. Then what?
Demand for vehicles will increase when the fed lowers interest rates and/or when MSRP comes down. The whole car market is down, not just EVs.
The Sultan Sea in So Cal also has TONS of lithium. 😎
And I think can also produce geothermal energy from the current concept of leaching the brine water from the ground.
@@andyjohnson3790 yes. I think you’re right.
mining and nature… crazy
Next, do hemp
For decades the US has been the largest importer of many precious metals and elements in either raw form or processed goods, and then usually throws it in the garbage at end of use. Reduce, Reuse, and then Recycle. It's crazy to imagine how much more materials would be available around the entire world if everyone actually recycled PROPERLY. ✌️🌲🌍🌳🌎✌️♻️
Maybe, an element is an element; however some reduce, but Li close to the bottom, it is not radioactive, does burn, and what is left I am not sure. Cutting down was by expending labor is a good option.
@@dalenbickenbach9533 this is clearly a drunk AI commenting
Most things cant be recycled. It's how entropy works.
Lack of recycling is not really our fault. It's just most of what we use/reuse is easier/cheaper to get from the source than it is to recycle. Virtually all plastics are a by-product of Oil Refining. I get your point though. It's ridiculous to think we can consume our way out of the damage we have done to the Earth and our Climate.
@@Withnail1969 that's not really an accurate comment. Almost everything can be recycled but there just isn't a good market for many recycled goods (mainly plastics) because it's just more convenient and can be cheaper to purchase raw materials.
When 800V was broken up my reaction was split the battery packs in two. For driving they are in series and charging in parallel.
Kudos on Biden’s part. He delivered.
so says crooked Joe's only fan. lol
I was there to see you Tony. For real
@wsj I noticed that in one of your recent videos, the map inaccurately depicts Crimea as part of Russia. I would like to kindly remind you that Crimea is internationally recognized as part of Ukraine. This depiction might unintentionally convey incorrect geopolitical information to viewers. Could you please consider updating the map to reflect the accurate status in line with international law? This would greatly enhance the accuracy and reliability of your content. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Dont forget about Spruce Pines NC !!! Unique in the world!
We could also stop the embargo on Cuba to buy their Nickel, they have huge deposits
Impressive investment for a greener future! 🌎
Proper Time
This project is already DOA😂😂
I think the graph periods were chosen to deliberately mislead.
the US was dominant in the south east Pacific region. But we fell in love with the middle east and thought oil would last forever. Now we're playing catchup
Rare Earth metals are NOT RARE!!!!!! The US was the world's biggest producer of rare earth minerals at one time. China took its place because the US public and government would rather have the highly polluting and toxic rare earth mining and processing happen in China than on US home soil. It is good that they are coming back, but don't let these companies pollute US waters and land, force them to clean up after themselves.
It's interesting to note the more permits and roadblocks to getting EV batteries into production means a longer wait to exit fossil fuels. It doesn't mean energy production isn't increasing.
The world of mines : mines sold to China = environmental pollution mines sold to US = environmental care
Becasue that's the reality, China doesn't care about environment at all.
Cause we actually have standards and rules in the US.
@frankvuong1080 We did with oil and coal too.
Lol China has absolutely no regard for the environment nor any regulations regarding environmental safety. The US is far different
@@francismarion6400 do you think China does it cleaner or the US? I'm pretty sure US does it cleaner.
Nice,,,,,
Amazing Tesla production and manufacturers
why, why was there not a single word about "who owns this land now"?
US Government owns it all they just lease the land for mining use.
because they are going to buy it. Nobody cares who owns the land now. And the USA government owns 95% of the state of nevada because it is so far from anywhere, and its a wasteland. So its probly the government
Follow the money.
Two stocks that I found on my own WOW!!! Can you also look at the amazing Helium find by Pulsar Helium about 90 miles north of the nickel mine in Tamarack Minnesota they found the highest concentration of natural helium 13.2 percent in the world
How many degrees with the earth be cooled if we dig up all the Lithium??
Ok, so when I click a KZhead link that you recommend only to find out it just happens to be behind a pay wall it makes me never want to watch your videos.
Yeah I mean how dare they pay for putting something like this together. Doesn't everyone just do things for free?
google removepaywall, first site, you paste your link there boom never worry about paywalls again
Its a balance between having the infrastructure and knowledge to make batteries, but at the same time not be the first to run out of supply. Oh and keep the environmental hazard out of our back yards
what about Cobalt? What is the solution for that?
LFP batteries do not use cobalt. They have several advantages over other battery types. One big advantage is that they are much cheaper. For this reason, about half of the EVs sold this year will use LFP. And going forward it will be the majority.
@@davidmenasco5743 who said this was only covering LFP?
Taking care of minerals domestic is the most important thing,
The U.S always had the minerals but was unwilling to pay a fair wage to get them out of the ground. How do you like it now.
As if the so called mythical 'fair wage' is the obstacle.
On shoring mining is the environmentally responsible thing to do. If we import, those materials are shipped overseas.
1:35 that's cute. look how proud and happy he is that he could sign that paper. question is: does he know who's name he signed?
If You Didn't Grow It It Came From A Mine - Bumper Sticker seen out West
And how about a little bit of appreciation from you city folks for what rural America is doing for you.
Never underestimate the power of NIMBY politics in American life
The irony of environmentalists protesting the mines that will enable cleaner transportation...
Some mines are worse than others.
You need sodium ion batteries to resist the icy cold that lithium can't handle
Yes, it’s definitely that simple 👍
Why didn't these multi billon dollar corporations think of that 🤯
Freedom batteries! Half as good, twice as expensive.
sure you can say it’s the biggest deposit, but lithium currently cannot be separated from clay in a manner that allows it to be mined. So why include that?
The video is literally explaining how they are obtaining the lithium from this deposit.
He's from tictock his attention span didn't get him there @@bahamatodd
US production also comes with US prices, they won't be cheap thats for sure.
Lithium americas is on robinhood rn
You should you have included Canada's mining industry boom
Streamlining the permitting process for these projects should be a priority for any Administration
They should be mining all those resources in the mountains of the Mojave between LA & Vegas. So much land... just sitting there.
Salton Sea is actually the largest lithium deposit in the world. This video made a mistake. And the Mojave is FULL of mines, old and new.
Cost will be to high😅.
If it's such a great idea it wouldn't need to be subsidized.
If such logic actually applies, China wouldn't have been able to make anything. Subsidy is a means to encourage buildup of supply and logistics, turning the wheel faster for it to become self-sustaining.
subsidies are meant to accelerate things
@@redbean9410 Yes I know what it's meant to do. Who cares what it's meant to do? What matters is what it actually does Subsidies are based off of the Marxist assumption that the government knows better than they people.
There is too much people trying to lurk money from these mines rather than for the good of USA
EFF JAY 🐝
A million GM BEVs. lol Now that's funny.
Support Your "Dirty Green Energy" Plebs MINE BABY MINE
They say solar energy is renewable, but i dont understand how exactly are you going to re-new the unique nickel deposit ?
If a resource becomes rare enough, it will eventually be economically feasible to recycle. Gas and coal can't be recycled, since it's burned away. But nickle and lithium can.
Correct Lithium batteries can (and soon will) be recycled with about 95%. The Lithium isn’t gone only about 5% of it per use cycle…
@@JacktheSmack Right now, so called renewables arre taking donations from govermants. When they get recycling they will be even more expensive, you say. Which menas, renewables will get even more donations from govermtns ?
@@gg.youlubeatube6249Renewables like solar panels have become cheaper as technology advancement improves and production improves. If it only gets more expensive then it will become cost prohibitive to be even worth it
@@JacktheSmackCarbon dioxide gets recycled, but wind blades aren't.
GO USA go..
US should've kept Africa and South America close to them
No one wants to be close to an imperialist
@@darthvadeth6290 Bruh I was just suggesting XD
South America, despite what you may think, is a strong ally. Africa is incredibly unstable and therefore doesn’t extract nearly as many resources as they could. What is your point? Africa is not a good supplier, and south america is our supplier for lithium
US would ruin every country where they pointed the finger on a global map.
@@darthvadeth6290 yeah, it seems they want to be financially beholden to china. LOLOL So we're the better choice.
It’s weird how you didn’t mention the lithium plant in Oregon that will be larger than the 2 you mentioned… huh.
Probably bc they're biased?
The US will need its relationships as much as its self-sufficiency to be succeasful in the future. We need politicians who can help the US, and whom also are aware of world dynamics. Isolationism is no longer an effective geopolitical strategy. But it's all I ever hear promoted.
If you can’t even make the nails and screws to build your house, what makes you think you can build an EV battery?
Hertz is abandoning it's EV rental program as a total financial flop 😅
The batteries only last 7-10 years and the car, truck is junk! Who in their right mind wants that?
The moment you're the one playing catch up, thats a sign you are losing.
Yeah, America should have properly colonized Africa properly like the Chinese.
@@chadgarcia983 sour grapes
@@chadgarcia983 Fr you are mad because China is helping Africa. If Africa finds China is playing double standards, China would be kicked out already
You are wrong. We aren’t playing catch up, we are getting every part of the production line back here. Manufacturing doesn’t make your rich, Design does. Apple is worth 3 Trillion Dollar, Foxconn is not. America is the Number 1, it owns the finish line.
Only in the short term. South Korea's car industry was on the global scale almost non-existent 20 years ago, Samsung was tiny in comparison to today 30 years ago.
Yeah and the dollar machine goes brrrrrr
🔋=🤑
All that mining equipment powered by solar or wind?
Are horses powered by hay? 😂
Powered by hatred of China? idk
@@Cody_Handsome Are horses mining?
Crimea is part of Ukraine and not russia.
Oh not the bath salts I was expecting
Don't tell florida they got bath salts!!!!
Wrecking the environment to reduce a fraction of CO2 emissions (when the vehicles are NOT spontaneously combusting, that is). What could possibly go wrong?
The good news is the caldera in Nevada is on total wasteland. Still, it's gonna be stupidly expensive to develop silly EV supply chains without nuclear power
@@Mcfunface Wasteland or not, refining minerals is polluting and mining pollutes. Some minerals are genuinely essential, but lithium batteries have a history of spontaneous combustion --- a parking garage completely destroyed, several car ferries destroyed, an apartment building set afire in China with tragic loss of life. And yes, we need more well-engineered nuclear power plants.
Come to the comment section, where the experts are haha
Wait a minute… How come we can do cruddy things like mining lithium… To cut our dependence on China… When we can’t even get our own oil out of the ground?😅😂😂
And we're losing the chance to mine the oceans seafloor.
It may be challenging for Western perspectives to fully grasp the extent of China's advancement in various fields, particularly given the tendency in Western media to ridicule phenomena like China's seemingly empty cities and subway systems. However, it's crucial to recognize that China operates with a fundamentally different mindset compared to North America. Chinese planning often extends decades, if not generations, into the future, a stark contrast to the shorter-term planning typical in the West. As America endeavors to catch up, it's worth acknowledging that the pace of innovation and development in China, exemplified by companies like BYD, is formidable. The emergence of groundbreaking technologies, such as advancements in battery power, underscores the depth of China's research and innovation capabilities. Dismissing China as merely a copycat neglects the significant strides it has made in original research and innovation. Moreover, it's essential to contextualize China's historical economic significance. For millennia, China and other Oriental civilizations have played a central role in the global economy, accounting for a substantial portion of the world's GDP. Even during periods of relative isolation, such as the opium-smoking era, China's economic influence was profound. Drawing comparisons to contemporary issues in the West, such as the opioid crisis in Canada, highlights the complexity of societal challenges faced by different regions. By recognizing China's historical contributions and its contemporary achievements, Western perspectives can more accurately appreciate the depth and breadth of China's influence on the world stage.
For that the West needs to get off the high horse first of all
Huge amount of credit of course goes to the chinese for their industrial policy that has made them a manufacturing powerhouse and lifted hundreds of millions of their citizens out of poverty. But they would be nowhere near where they are today if the US and the west hadn't given away the store to them through free trade agreements, offshoring, and technology transfers. We had hoped that through this china would prosper and liberalize and democratize. Instead they took all they could, stole some more, and got even more repressive and aggressive.
The West is afraid of China
*******The largest found, so far in US.*********
you buy cheap, not expensive...
Elon said invest in lithium, it’s like printing money. Don’t be Ignorant.
Subsidies are for children. Government subsidies are ALWAYS wrong.
Literally only useful for roads, railroads and dams. All other subsidizing by the government is waste
China has a lot of smelter and mining site in Sulawesi. US can compete by having a smelter and mining site in Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Why is Crimea on your map a part of Russia?! 1:53
why? gm will get rich by selling lithium or battery if not make good cars
My Chevrolet Blazer EV is pretty awesome. So GM does make some great EV's.
GM actually makes pretty good EVs thi
We shall obey you, Elon.
Arkansas lithium more promising
Thanks to President Joe Biden for looking forward into the future for the country! 🎉
Hi
Lithium is not rare and there are economically viable resources in many places throughout the US and the world. It is just a matter of developing the resources. New techniques for extraction from brines using adsorbents mean little pollution or run off. The spent brine is reinjected. Tesla may not be viable in a few years (instability of Musk) and GM has no intention of ever investing in mass production of electric vehicles. GM will take the tax payer money and waste it. Whenever the US has tried to develop mineral resources in the US, China has intentionally dumped product at below cost to prevent that development. When you have a country attacking your economic stability it is a war. You can't make a profit if you are competing against what is a money losing political power play. As long as China can undermine our economy by dumping below cost we will be their slaves.
The current mines just use slave labor, so this is a good thing for many reasons
And now EVs just sit on the lot
Remember when the government mandated compact fluorescent bulbs to save the environment? How many billions of mercury filled bulbs ended up in landfills?
You should check out Great Moments of Unintended Consequences, it's a funny series dedicated to stuff like that
Who buys GM electric cars??? And contract for 15yrs
This land is native America did they sign this all of that water and contaminate just railings off copper minrs
you lost me at Biden
Auto lunatics still holding the world hostage. Move on from the private car.