The proposed mine and processing scheme is pretty different from most existing
lithium mines, as the company proposes to mine clay deposits rather than saline
lake beds.
If you read the HCN article that I linked to, you'll note that the processing
method will rely on acid leaching of the clays, to the tune of 5800 tons of
sulfuric acid per day. The acid would be produced on site at a chemical-plant
complex built for the purpose.
The engineering feasibility report for this project (which I've just started to
dig into), a new 93 km rail spur from Winnemucca is proposed to haul in the raw
materials for sulfuric acid production.
The leaching will be done in tanks, by mixing the acid with clay slurry. After
leaching, the depleted clay slurry will go to a roughly 800-acre tailings pond.
That design seems to be just for mining of the Li-rich deposits closest to
Thacker Pass, so new tailings ponds would need to be constructed if the project
extends to the deposits farther north.
Water to convert the clay into slurry would be fresh water drawn from the Quinn
River, at a rate of about 560,000 liters/hour (2500 gallons per minute) once
the operation gets up to full speed.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeff Gilligan" <jeffgilligan10@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "Don Nelson" <ac7zg@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: "boo" <boo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "joel" <joel.geier@xxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, March 7, 2021 12:39:37 PM
Subject: Re: [boo] Re: Nevada lithium mine in sage-grouse habitat just s. of
Oregon Canyon Mountains
Thank you Don.
The water used is apparently salty, mineral rich, water that is pumped to the
surface. I am sure that whatever is left is pretty barren.
https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/renewable/the-environmental-impact-of-lithium-batteries/
Jeff
On Mar 7, 2021, at 12:34 PM, Don Nelson <ac7zg@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Most major lithium mines (only one in USA is in nevada) use large quantities
of water, and large evaporation ponds to process.
Water in the west USA , where 10% of the worlds lithium mine deposit exist,
will be the biggest issue that local flora and fauna will experience.
Don
Sent from my iPhone
