Berliner Boersenzeitung - Push for new US lithium mine leaves some Americans wary

EUR -
AED 4.26841
AFN 80.362394
ALL 97.542216
AMD 446.735356
ANG 2.080099
AOA 1065.794205
ARS 1481.767207
AUD 1.776887
AWG 2.092071
AZN 1.980459
BAM 1.954642
BBD 2.348809
BDT 141.226338
BGN 1.956132
BHD 0.43834
BIF 3466.946195
BMD 1.162261
BND 1.493215
BOB 8.038238
BRL 6.486005
BSD 1.163311
BTN 100.147673
BWP 15.618748
BYN 3.807045
BYR 22780.325028
BZD 2.336716
CAD 1.596076
CDF 3354.287055
CHF 0.932981
CLF 0.029194
CLP 1120.296341
CNY 8.342655
CNH 8.346165
COP 4674.330945
CRC 587.052233
CUC 1.162261
CUP 30.799929
CVE 110.199718
CZK 24.634179
DJF 206.947405
DKK 7.463699
DOP 70.258379
DZD 151.514244
EGP 57.439973
ERN 17.433922
ETB 161.636047
FJD 2.620788
FKP 0.864949
GBP 0.86668
GEL 3.150183
GGP 0.864949
GHS 12.127816
GIP 0.864949
GMD 83.106172
GNF 10094.020343
GTQ 8.931709
GYD 243.385819
HKD 9.121487
HNL 30.445964
HRK 7.532663
HTG 152.739518
HUF 398.923459
IDR 18977.696027
ILS 3.908598
IMP 0.864949
INR 100.127437
IQD 1523.897249
IRR 48945.741055
ISK 142.354235
JEP 0.864949
JMD 186.029797
JOD 0.824089
JPY 172.932309
KES 150.300962
KGS 101.640213
KHR 4662.238109
KMF 491.989694
KPW 1046.046309
KRW 1616.942576
KWD 0.355234
KYD 0.969426
KZT 620.152624
LAK 25087.138481
LBP 104232.653
LKR 350.972086
LRD 233.241828
LSL 20.596898
LTL 3.431856
LVL 0.703041
LYD 6.327252
MAD 10.519168
MDL 19.788278
MGA 5176.933206
MKD 61.523554
MMK 2439.678938
MNT 4168.013035
MOP 9.404829
MRU 46.275587
MUR 53.119698
MVR 17.903172
MWK 2017.205016
MXN 21.777182
MYR 4.935007
MZN 74.338683
NAD 20.596898
NGN 1779.387897
NIO 42.814637
NOK 11.838157
NPR 160.236077
NZD 1.94976
OMR 0.446995
PAB 1.163311
PEN 4.140847
PGK 4.817146
PHP 66.377189
PKR 331.310933
PLN 4.244785
PYG 9003.666265
QAR 4.229694
RON 5.072695
RSD 117.080642
RUB 91.375869
RWF 1681.00418
SAR 4.36165
SBD 9.64543
SCR 17.082281
SDG 697.942292
SEK 11.245095
SGD 1.492813
SHP 0.913355
SLE 26.62005
SLL 24372.046713
SOS 664.806172
SRD 43.245469
STD 24056.466061
STN 24.485495
SVC 10.17897
SYP 15112.803405
SZL 20.592801
THB 37.628259
TJS 11.196867
TMT 4.079538
TND 3.419874
TOP 2.722137
TRY 46.947496
TTD 7.897322
TWD 34.181766
TZS 3030.404801
UAH 48.58252
UGX 4168.530579
USD 1.162261
UYU 46.882227
UZS 14725.276806
VES 135.943958
VND 30404.760344
VUV 138.92149
WST 3.080055
XAF 655.568644
XAG 0.030448
XAU 0.000347
XCD 3.14107
XCG 2.096558
XDR 0.815317
XOF 655.568644
XPF 119.331742
YER 280.163552
ZAR 20.586499
ZMK 10461.752209
ZMW 26.785133
ZWL 374.247723
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

Push for new US lithium mine leaves some Americans wary
Push for new US lithium mine leaves some Americans wary / Photo: Allison Joyce - AFP

Push for new US lithium mine leaves some Americans wary

When Kristal Lee and her husband bought a house in Gaston County, North Carolina two years ago, they envisioned a "forever home". But a planned lithium mine is bringing Lee sleepless nights.

Text size:

Nearby is an area earmarked for a $1.2 billion project to produce battery grade lithium for US electric vehicle (EV) supply chains -- one of only a few such sites in the country.

"You get very anxious when you hear about it," she said of the project by Piedmont Lithium.

"We don't really have an option of moving right now, especially with the economy and inflation."

With President Joe Biden working to build domestic EV and battery industries, companies are seeking supplies in United States -- which has major lithium deposits in Nevada, North Carolina and California.

Biden's aims include furthering the energy transition and lowering dependence on China, which supplies the bulk of global lithium-ion battery exports.

Lithium-ion battery demand is set to grow nearly 30 percent annually from 2022-2030, according to McKinsey & Company.

However, pushback against Piedmont and others underscore how officials' efforts leave some residents skeptical.

- Balancing act -

Top risks of mining include water pollution and reducing water supplies, said Aimee Boulanger, executive director at the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA).

"Moving rock to get minerals opens up land and risks the soil and metals normally locked in the earth washing into streams, rivers, and drinking water," added Boulanger, whose organization certifies mines for major companies.

Lee, 41, has five children and worries about dust and noise from the open pit mine where Piedmont plans to conduct blasting once or twice daily as needed.

The company maintains that this would not cause structural damage nearby.

Her neighbors also fear water contamination or a supply disruption.

Piedmont plans to test and treat water that drains into its pits before using or discharging it.

The company's back-ups involve potentially drilling new wells, providing access to municipal water supplies, or supplying bottled water -- but this has failed to quell jitters.

"We need to work to ensure that (mines) don't cause harm that outweighs or outlasts" benefits, said Boulanger.

- 'Get it right' -

Resident Jim McMahan said the mine life of around a decade is another concern.

"They will provide jobs for a period of time," the 65-year-old retiree, who has taken up farming, said. But eventually "the jobs will be gone and maybe, the farms will be gone."

Reducing emissions can be a legitimate argument for developing new industries, notes Locke Bell, 73, a retired county district attorney.

"I want clean air," he said, "but I don't want reckless destruction of the earth and the waters to produce a minimal amount of lithium."

This month, Piedmont Lithium received a North Carolina state mining permit, but it needs further local permissions.

Chad Brown, chair of the Gaston County Board of Commissioners, said: "We have to get it right. They have to make sure they assure us."

He said a decision could be reached by November.

Lee learned about the mine a year after moving into her current home -- when Piedmont mailed the family a gift of coffee and a note.

"I've lost enough sleepless nights," she said.

- Negative view? -

Piedmont's project is expected to produce 30,000 metric tons of lithium hydroxide annually, "significantly" boosting US capacity.

The world's top lithium producer Albemarle is also working to reopen a dormant mine in Kings Mountain, North Carolina.

The company said it benefited from policies like the Inflation Reduction Act and received nearly $150 million via a Department of Energy grant to support costs.

Biden has been struggling to win over Americans with his economic policies, despite the surge in investments they have triggered.

In Gaston County, the situation leaves a "negative" view of the government's clean energy push, Bell said.

Lee said she supports clean energy but is less convinced of EVs, citing a lack of charging infrastructure and high costs even with tax rebates.

McMahan described the lithium mining process as "invasive."

"I really do not feel that the push for electric vehicles is something that is being done in the way that it should be done," he said.

(A.Berg--BBZ)