Mining
Gold in the United States of America
Thanks to our friends at Gold Eagle for sponsoring this piece.
[imagemap id=”1824″]
Gold in the United States of America
Thanks to our friends at Gold Eagle for sponsoring this piece.
The United States has always had a love affair with the yellow metal. It all started in Stafford, Virginia in 1782, when Thomas Jefferson documented the first gold discovery himself.
Since then, Americans have been searching for gold far and wide. The California Gold Rush brought hundreds of thousands of people to the West in search of new found wealth. Years later, many more ventured into Alaska’s wilderness to hit it rich.
Even today, there is a modern gold rush in Nevada, where the five biggest gold mines (by contained oz) are located. The US produced 8.2% of the world’s gold in 2013, which puts it in third place for annual production.
It’s also no secret that the US also holds the largest reserves of gold today, primarily located in the Fort Knox and Federal Reserve Bank of New York depositories. Between the two locations, a hefty 8,133.5 tonnes of gold are vaulted.
The future is still bright for gold in America: in fact, just three undeveloped deposits in Alaska (Pebble, Donlin, and Livengood) hold a potentially game-changing 180,000,000 oz of gold combined.
While it is true that there have been some hiccups along the way, such as Roosevelt’s confiscation of gold in 1933, it is unlikely that America’s fixation on gold will end any time soon.
Mining
White Gold: Mapping U.S. Lithium Mines
In this graphic, Visual Capitalist partnerered with EnergyX to explore the size and location of U.S. lithium mines.
White Gold: Mapping U.S. Lithium Mines
The U.S. doubled imports of lithium-ion batteries for the third consecutive year in 2022, and with EV demand growing yearly, U.S. lithium mines must ramp up production or rely on other nations for their supply of refined lithium.
To determine if the domestic U.S. lithium opportunity can meet demand, we partnered with EnergyX to determine how much lithium sits within U.S. borders.
U.S. Lithium Projects
The most crucial measure of a lithium mine’s potential is the quantity that can be extracted from the source.
For each lithium resource, the potential volume of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) was calculated with a ratio of one metric ton of lithium producing 5.32 metric tons of LCE. Cumulatively, existing U.S. lithium projects contain 94.8 million metric tons of LCE.
Rank | Project Name | LCE, million metric tons (est.) |
---|---|---|
1 | McDermitt Caldera | 21.5 |
2 | Thacker Pass | 19.1 |
3 | Tonopah Flats | 18.0 |
4 | TLC Lithium | 10.7 |
5 | Clayton Valley (Century Lithium) | 6.3 |
6 | Zeus Lithium | 6.3 |
7 | Rhyolite Ridge | 3.4 |
8 | Arkansas Smackover (Phase 1A) | 2.8 |
9 | Basin Project | 2.2 |
10 | McGee Deposit | 2.1 |
11 | Arkansas Smackover (South West) | 1.8 |
12 | Clayton Valley (Lithium-X, Pure Energy) | 0.8 |
13 | Big Sandy | 0.3 |
14 | Imperial Valley/Salton Sea | 0.3 |
U.S. Lithium Opportunities, By State
U.S. lithium projects mainly exist in western states, with comparatively minor opportunities in central or eastern states.
State | LCE, million metric tons (est.) |
---|---|
Nevada | 88.2 |
Arkansas | 4.6 |
Arizona | 2.5 |
California | 0.3 |
Currently, the U.S. is sitting on a wealth of lithium that it is underutilizing. For context, in 2022, the U.S. only produced about 5,000 metric tons of LCE and imported a projected 19,000 metric tons of LCE, showing that the demand for the mineral is healthy.
The Next Gold Rush?
U.S. lithium companies have the opportunity to become global leaders in lithium production and accelerate the transition to sustainable energy sources. This is particularly important as the demand for lithium is increasing every year.
EnergyX is on a mission to meet U.S. lithium demands using groundbreaking technology that can extract 300% more lithium from a source than traditional methods.
You can take advantage of this opportunity by investing in EnergyX and joining other significant players like GM in becoming a shareholder.
-
Energy1 month ago
Charted: Global Uranium Reserves, by Country
We visualize the distribution of the world’s uranium reserves by country, with 3 countries accounting for more than half of total reserves.
-
Energy3 months ago
The Periodic Table of Commodity Returns (2014-2023)
Commodity returns in 2023 took a hit. This graphic shows the performance of commodities like gold, oil, nickel, and corn over the last decade.
-
China3 months ago
China Dominates the Supply of U.S. Critical Minerals List
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that in 2022, China was the world’s leading producer of 30 out of 50 entries on the U.S. critical minerals list.
-
Strategic Metals4 months ago
The Critical Minerals to China, EU, and U.S. National Security
Ten materials, including cobalt, lithium, graphite, and rare earths, are deemed critical by all three.
-
Mining4 months ago
All the Metals We Mined in One Visualization
This infographic visualizes the 2.8 billion tonnes of metals mined in 2022.
-
Mining6 months ago
200 Years of Global Gold Production, by Country
Global gold production has grown exponentially since the 1800s, with 86% of all above-ground gold mined in the last 200 years.
-
Misc4 days ago
Visualized: The Most Followed People on Instagram in 2024
-
Stocks1 week ago
Will Tesla Lose Its Spot in the Magnificent Seven?
-
Technology1 week ago
Charted: The Jobs Most Impacted by AI
-
Markets1 week ago
Visualizing the Biggest Companies on Major Stock Exchanges
-
Money1 week ago
The World’s Top 50 Largest Banks by Consolidated Assets
-
Demographics1 week ago
Visualizing the Declining Birth Rate in Japan
-
Technology1 week ago
The World’s Largest Corporate Holders of Bitcoin
-
Misc1 week ago
A Map of Global Happiness By Country in 2024