For scale, each of the long, skinny ponds in the center is nearly a kilometer long. Source: NASA Earth Observatory, by Lauren Dauphin Mining lithium brine is quite unlike any of the other methods ...

Lithium, this silvery-white metal, has become the lifeblood of the modern world, powering everything from smartphones to electric cars. But as demand for lithium soars, the race to secure it has grown ...

California's biggest lake has languished for decades as increased salinity, a sinking waterline and a foul smell have robbed ...

salty water is first pumped out of the lake into a series of shallow ponds, then concentrated using solar energy into a lithium chloride brine, which is subsequently treated with soda to ...

Image via Shutterstock It would seem that everything including time itself is against this major body of water in California.

Summit Nanotech said on Tuesday it had secured $25.5 million in funding from a consortium of investment funds, bolstering its work on direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies.

Albemarle, the company that operates the country’s only operating lithium mine ... pump stations and related pipelines, two brine ponds and future well drilling, the agency said.

While DLE technologies vary, they are comparable to common household water softeners and aim to extract about 90% or more of the lithium from brines, compared to about 50% using ponds. That's ...